The 23-time major singles champion, who entered the tournament ranked 605 with just one win in 450 days, won a tense opening set in a tiebreak before Kontaveit, the Estonian world No 2, broke straight away to open the second and twice more. to force a decision maker. Amid breathtaking brilliance and a sellout crowd right in Williams’ corner, Kontaveit again held her nerve, fighting off the first five break points she faced and seven of nine in the first two sets. But after an exchange of serve early in the third, Williams broke again and held to the finish line, creating yet another thrilling spectacle in the main show of the six-time winner of the tournament. After Williams hit a backhand winner past her opponent on match point after 2 hours 27 minutes, she calmly lifted a forehand towards her players’ box amid the roars of more than 23,000 spectators who packed Arthur Ashe Stadium . “I’ve been down a little bit,” said Williams, who has won 23 of her last 25 matches against opponents ranked in the top two, including eight in a row. “We’ll see.” Williams advances to a third-round meeting on Friday against Ajla Tomljanović, an unseeded Australian ranked 46th, in a suddenly wide-open section of the women’s draw. Among the other seeds to fall on Friday were No. 14 Leylah Annie Fernandez and No. 23 Barbora Krejčíková, whose withdrawals ensure Williams cannot face another opponent until at least the quarterfinals. “There’s no rush here,” he said. “I love this crowd. There’s still a little left in me. We’ll see. I’m a very good player, that’s what I do best. I love a challenge and I rise to the challenge.” Williams, who turns 41 next month and has played sparingly since last year’s Wimbledon due to a nagging hamstring injury, revealed her plans to retire earlier this month. Her diminished form was revealed in the US Open tournaments that followed the announcement – ​​a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in Toronto, followed by a 6-4, 6-0 6-0 loss. Emma Raducanu in Cincinnati – which left many observers pessimistic about her chances at Flushing Meadows. But as she has made countless times in a scenic 27-year professional career that has seen her amass more grand slam titles than any other player in the Open era, Williams has defied expectations by raising her level for what would be her farewell tournament. In contrast to her nervous start in Monday’s first-round win over Danka Kovinic, Williams’ serve picked up from the start on Wednesday night, reaching up to 119 mph and hitting targets at will. He hung with Kontaveit who was hitting muscular baseline volleys and moving around the court with a fluidity of thought he didn’t have long ago. “I haven’t played a lot of matches, but I’ve been training really well,” Williams said. “The last two matches are together. After I lost the second set I thought, “I have to give it my best because this could be it.” “I just see it as a bonus. I have nothing to lose. I’ve had an X on my back since 1999. I really like to go out and enjoy it.”

title: “Serena Williams Rolls Back The Years At Us Open To Beat No. 2 Kontaveit Serena Williams Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-17” author: “Linda Hibler”

The 23-time major singles champion, who entered the tournament ranked 605 with just one win in 450 days, won a tense opening set in a tiebreak before Kontaveit, the Estonian world No 2, broke straight away to open the second and twice more. to force a decision maker. Amid breathtaking brilliance and a sellout crowd right in Williams’ corner, Kontaveit again held her nerve, fighting off the first five break points she faced and seven of nine in the first two sets. But after an exchange of serve early in the third, Williams broke again and held to the finish line, creating yet another thrilling spectacle in the main show of the six-time winner of the tournament. After Williams hit a backhand winner past her opponent on match point after 2 hours 27 minutes, she calmly lifted a forehand towards her players’ box amid the roars of more than 23,000 spectators who packed Arthur Ashe Stadium . “I’ve been down a little bit,” said Williams, who has won 23 of her last 25 matches against opponents ranked in the top two, including eight in a row. “We’ll see.” Williams advances to a third-round meeting on Friday against Ajla Tomljanović, an unseeded Australian ranked 46th, in a suddenly wide-open section of the women’s draw. Among the other seeds to fall on Friday were No. 14 Leylah Annie Fernandez and No. 23 Barbora Krejčíková, whose withdrawals ensure Williams cannot face another opponent until at least the quarterfinals. “There’s no rush here,” he said. “I love this crowd. There’s still a little left in me. We’ll see. I’m a very good player, that’s what I do best. I love a challenge and I rise to the challenge.” Williams, who turns 41 next month and has played sparingly since last year’s Wimbledon due to a nagging hamstring injury, revealed her plans to retire earlier this month. Her diminished form was revealed in the US Open tournaments that followed the announcement – ​​a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in Toronto, followed by a 6-4, 6-0 6-0 loss. Emma Raducanu in Cincinnati – which left many observers pessimistic about her chances at Flushing Meadows. But as she has made countless times in a scenic 27-year professional career that has seen her amass more grand slam titles than any other player in the Open era, Williams has defied expectations by raising her level for what would be her farewell tournament. In contrast to her nervous start in Monday’s first-round win over Danka Kovinic, Williams’ serve picked up from the start on Wednesday night, reaching up to 119 mph and hitting targets at will. He hung with Kontaveit who was hitting muscular baseline volleys and moving around the court with a fluidity of thought he didn’t have long ago. “I haven’t played a lot of matches, but I’ve been training really well,” Williams said. “The last two matches are together. After I lost the second set I thought, “I have to give it my best because this could be it.” “I just see it as a bonus. I have nothing to lose. I’ve had an X on my back since 1999. I really like to go out and enjoy it.”

title: “Serena Williams Rolls Back The Years At Us Open To Beat No. 2 Kontaveit Serena Williams Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-06” author: “Robert Holmberg”

The 23-time major singles champion, who entered the tournament ranked 605 with just one win in 450 days, won a tense opening set in a tiebreak before Kontaveit, the Estonian world No 2, broke straight away to open the second and twice more. to force a decision maker. Amid breathtaking brilliance and a sellout crowd right in Williams’ corner, Kontaveit again held her nerve, fighting off the first five break points she faced and seven of nine in the first two sets. But after an exchange of serve early in the third, Williams broke again and held to the finish line, creating yet another thrilling spectacle in the main show of the six-time winner of the tournament. After Williams hit a backhand winner past her opponent on match point after 2 hours 27 minutes, she calmly lifted a forehand towards her players’ box amid the roars of more than 23,000 spectators who packed Arthur Ashe Stadium . “I’ve been down a little bit,” said Williams, who has won 23 of her last 25 matches against opponents ranked in the top two, including eight in a row. “We’ll see.” Williams advances to a third-round meeting on Friday against Ajla Tomljanović, an unseeded Australian ranked 46th, in a suddenly wide-open section of the women’s draw. Among the other seeds to fall on Friday were No. 14 Leylah Annie Fernandez and No. 23 Barbora Krejčíková, whose withdrawals ensure Williams cannot face another opponent until at least the quarterfinals. “There’s no rush here,” he said. “I love this crowd. There’s still a little left in me. We’ll see. I’m a very good player, that’s what I do best. I love a challenge and I rise to the challenge.” Williams, who turns 41 next month and has played sparingly since last year’s Wimbledon due to a nagging hamstring injury, revealed her plans to retire earlier this month. Her diminished form was revealed in the US Open tournaments that followed the announcement – ​​a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in Toronto, followed by a 6-4, 6-0 6-0 loss. Emma Raducanu in Cincinnati – which left many observers pessimistic about her chances at Flushing Meadows. But as she has made countless times in a scenic 27-year professional career that has seen her amass more grand slam titles than any other player in the Open era, Williams has defied expectations by raising her level for what would be her farewell tournament. In contrast to her nervous start in Monday’s first-round win over Danka Kovinic, Williams’ serve picked up from the start on Wednesday night, reaching up to 119 mph and hitting targets at will. He hung with Kontaveit who was hitting muscular baseline volleys and moving around the court with a fluidity of thought he didn’t have long ago. “I haven’t played a lot of matches, but I’ve been training really well,” Williams said. “The last two matches are together. After I lost the second set I thought, “I have to give it my best because this could be it.” “I just see it as a bonus. I have nothing to lose. I’ve had an X on my back since 1999. I really like to go out and enjoy it.”

title: “Serena Williams Rolls Back The Years At Us Open To Beat No. 2 Kontaveit Serena Williams Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-07” author: “Lance Ledet”

The 23-time major singles champion, who entered the tournament ranked 605 with just one win in 450 days, won a tense opening set in a tiebreak before Kontaveit, the Estonian world No 2, broke straight away to open the second and twice more. to force a decision maker. Amid breathtaking brilliance and a sellout crowd right in Williams’ corner, Kontaveit again held her nerve, fighting off the first five break points she faced and seven of nine in the first two sets. But after an exchange of serve early in the third, Williams broke again and held to the finish line, creating yet another thrilling spectacle in the main show of the six-time winner of the tournament. After Williams hit a backhand winner past her opponent on match point after 2 hours 27 minutes, she calmly lifted a forehand towards her players’ box amid the roars of more than 23,000 spectators who packed Arthur Ashe Stadium . “I’ve been down a little bit,” said Williams, who has won 23 of her last 25 matches against opponents ranked in the top two, including eight in a row. “We’ll see.” Williams advances to a third-round meeting on Friday against Ajla Tomljanović, an unseeded Australian ranked 46th, in a suddenly wide-open section of the women’s draw. Among the other seeds to fall on Friday were No. 14 Leylah Annie Fernandez and No. 23 Barbora Krejčíková, whose withdrawals ensure Williams cannot face another opponent until at least the quarterfinals. “There’s no rush here,” he said. “I love this crowd. There’s still a little left in me. We’ll see. I’m a very good player, that’s what I do best. I love a challenge and I rise to the challenge.” Williams, who turns 41 next month and has played sparingly since last year’s Wimbledon due to a nagging hamstring injury, revealed her plans to retire earlier this month. Her diminished form was revealed in the US Open tournaments that followed the announcement – ​​a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in Toronto, followed by a 6-4, 6-0 6-0 loss. Emma Raducanu in Cincinnati – which left many observers pessimistic about her chances at Flushing Meadows. But as she has made countless times in a scenic 27-year professional career that has seen her amass more grand slam titles than any other player in the Open era, Williams has defied expectations by raising her level for what would be her farewell tournament. In contrast to her nervous start in Monday’s first-round win over Danka Kovinic, Williams’ serve picked up from the start on Wednesday night, reaching up to 119 mph and hitting targets at will. He hung with Kontaveit who was hitting muscular baseline volleys and moving around the court with a fluidity of thought he didn’t have long ago. “I haven’t played a lot of matches, but I’ve been training really well,” Williams said. “The last two matches are together. After I lost the second set I thought, “I have to give it my best because this could be it.” “I just see it as a bonus. I have nothing to lose. I’ve had an X on my back since 1999. I really like to go out and enjoy it.”