Serena Williams may just pull off the impossible and end her remarkable career with a fairy-tale U.S. Open triumph that will be remembered for years to come.
Her 23 Grand Slam victories already hold the Open Era record for the sport of tennis, which began in 1968. However, given what we saw in the U.S. Open second round, it is not too far-fetched to believe that she could equal Margaret Court’s 24 Grand Slam record.
Williams advanced to the third round of what she has declared will be her final event by defeating the No. 2 player in the world, Anett Kontaveit, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2, on Wednesday night. On Friday, she will play Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, who is currently ranked No. 46 in the world.
In her post-match, on-court interview, Williams said, “I’m rising to the challenge. “I have nothing to lose,” I said.
Consider this: Who is able to defeat her? No player in women’s tennis now is as utterly dominant as Williams was during her prime. The 14 Grand Slam championships have been won by nine different athletes since 2019. Although Kontaveit claims she was happy with her performance, Williams was just superior, particularly in the pivotal third set.
Williams gave a powerful retort to start the third set after the world no. 2 broke her in the first game of their second set and went on to dominate it and square the match. The crowd erupted with excitement when it became clear that Williams would not simply concede and take her leave while hitting two winners to maintain serve. Instead, she took a 2-0 lead in the match.
It was obvious who the New York City crowd was supporting. Playing in front of supporters who were less hostile to her than they were loyal to Williams, Kontaveit admitted, “It was incredibly hard.” It was an experience I had never had before.
In her subsequent service game, where she had a 40-0 lead before making two unforced errors that cost her the game, things became a little dicey for Williams. To her credit, she rebounded from that oversight and broke Konaveit once more to take the lead 3-1.
On her subsequent service game, Williams scored four points in a row to take a 4-1 lead. She delivered a service winner at 108 mph, followed by another powerful serve that forced a mistake from Kontaveit. Kontaveit appeared helpless. Three games later, Williams delivered the decisive blow by backhanding a soft Kontaveit second serve past her opponent.
Williams noted that she was feeling good about her practice sessions before to the commencement of the competition. Her work’s quality is now clearly seen.
On her subsequent service game, Williams scored four points in a row to take a 4-1 lead. She delivered a service winner at 108 mph, followed by another powerful serve that forced a mistake from Kontaveit. Kontaveit appeared helpless. Three games later, Williams delivered the decisive blow by backhanding a soft Kontaveit second serve past her opponent.
Williams noted that she was feeling good about her practice sessions before to the commencement of the competition. Her work’s quality is now clearly seen.
Williams stated, “I just feel like I’ve had a huge red X on my back since I won the U.S. Open in ’99. But things are different here. I feel like I’ve already won mentally and metaphorically.
Her game could achieve a literal victory if it continues on this course. Be cautious.
