Serena Williams keeps the magic going in a molten arena
The American, stunning until the end, eliminated world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit and won her qualification for the third round of the US Open. Is the fairy tale on its way?
Posted today at 05:06
All the superlatives had already been drawn to salute the exceptional champion Serena Williams. They are still current. In an Arthur-Ashe Stadium in a trance, the soon-to-be 41-year-old American went to dig deep within herself to eliminate world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit (7-6 2-6 6-2) and qualify for the 3rd round of the US Open. She will face the Australian Ajla Tomljanovic (WTA 46) there on Friday.
Sparkling in her gala outfit, the woman with 23 Grand Slam titles has clearly raised the level of her game, compared to her 1st round against Montenegrin Danka Kovinic. He had to, because Anett Kontaveit offered him a hell of a showdown. In a high-intensity first set, the two players went blow for blow. “Queen Serena” may have thought she had done the hard part by stealing the Estonian’s serve on her sixth occasion to lead 5-4, but she in turn lost hers when closing the deal. Two games later, a tie break began, won by the six-time winner of the tournament, which ended with a devastating ace (7-4).
Furious madness in the stands. Although carried by the crowd, Serena Williams experienced a big slack at the start of the second set. As released, Anett Kontaveit lined up the winning points to lead 3-0, then equalize at one set everywhere (6-2).
Logs in the brazier
After a short stint in the locker room, the queen of the place returned invigorated, more determined than ever to postpone the hour of farewell. Entering this decisive round with the bit in his teeth and his foot on the floor, the ex-world no. 1, now 605th according to the WTA computer, quickly led 2-0 and 40-0 on his serve, before seeing the Estonian come back to 2-1. Had the wheel turned? Not at all, because it takes a lot more to destabilize the monster of competition that is the American. So the latter put a few logs in the fire to resume her break lead and conclude at 5-2 on opposing service.
We could put the performance into perspective by pointing out that Anett Kontaveit has never reached the second round of Grand Slam this year. But we prefer to highlight the new piece of bravery performed by the incredible American. “Can Serena Williams win the US Open?”, ESPN’s editorial team was excited after her victory in the 1st round. Perfectly crazy, the question remains completely unreasonable. But nothing seems rational in the champion’s last rush. Thursday evening in the same Arthur-Ashe Stadium, on the eve of her third round against Ajla Tomljanovic, she will resume a “little” walkabout, the time of a double with her older sister Venus. The magic has definitely not finished operating.
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