[ad_1]
Serena Williams, clinging to her reputation as a mountaineer on an icy escarpment, edged out 2017 champion Sloane Stephens on day six of the 2020 US Open to get closer to more tennis history. But her 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Arthur Ashe in one hour and 45 minutes went from tense to the point of genuine concern and back to blinding dominance as she advanced into the fourth round.
Her task doesn’t get any easier there, where spirited Greek star Maria Sakkari, who beat her at the Cincinnati Open last week, is waiting for the 23-slam queen of tennis. Early Saturday, Sakkari did brief work with another American, the publicized Amanda Anisimova.
Winner of six titles in 10 finals and 19 visits, Williams had not left the tournament in the third round since her teenage debut in 1998, when she lost to Romanian Irina Spirlea. But she flirted too much with fate on Saturday.
With most of the big names left in the draw watching from the players’ suites above, Williams said on the court: “It was intense, I have to say. We always have incredible matches. Get the best of my fitness when I play with Sloane. In that first set, I don’t think I made any mistakes. He said: ‘I don’t want to lose in straight sets. Get a game, get a game. ‘ I love the crowd, but I’m so intense, that’s how I am in practice. “
Tim Henman predicted on Amazon Prime that Stephens would crush Williams in straight sets, putting into play the possibility of a champion chasing Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 slams. Greg Rusedski also predicted doom. Martina Navratilova, a four-time United States champion, saw it differently: “It’s still Serena Williams against the field, but time is not her friend.” Congratulations, gentlemen. There is always tomorrow.
However, for long periods, the network and money laundering were not his friends either. Broken early, it was rooted to the bottom line, statuesque in all the wrong ways. Breathing heavily and too dependent on her dreaded serve to get out of trouble, she struggled to dominate Stephens, who broke again and took a one-set lead.
The urgency increased appreciably in the second box. Williams loosened a bit on his groundstrokes and stayed up front on serve. Although Stephens was still attacking her wide open, she received a couple of glances on Stephens serve in the sixth game and was relieved to see her tired opponent hit wide open.
Williams kept the love going and broke 15 to level to one set each after an hour and 10 minutes, and the anxiety faded. He broke 3-1 in the third and then took the victory without incident, as he has done for most of his career.
Sakkari, who stunned Williams at the Cincinnati Open at the same site, said of the pending rematch after embarrassing 22nd seed Anisimova in 55 minutes: “It’s going to be tough, but playing Serena this week. last gives me an idea. how she plays. You have to invent good tennis. Otherwise, there is no chance against it. You never know what you’re going to get with Serena. “
She added: “I’m happy with the way I played today. I didn’t make a lot of unforced errors, I didn’t let her hit the winners or give her time. My service was good. “
While others grapple with the antivirus bubble at the venue and in team hotels, as well as the absence of spectators, Sakkari, who has yet to catch the cynicism of the tour, said: “I am very grateful to be here, even without the fans. I don’t agree with people who say it doesn’t feel right. We are all here fighting for the title. We are not here for no reason. “
This was the highest number of Americans, 11, to reach the third round of the women’s draw since 1992. Elsewhere, it was not a great day for local male hopes.
If anyone didn’t know that 21-year-old wild card JJ Wolf looked up to Andre Agassi, bleach and mullet might have given him away. Yet that’s where the comparison ended when the Ohio college star caught fire against last year’s finalist Daniil Medvedev.
The Russian, who won 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 49 minutes, said: “It was a good match to win in three sets. It is not easy to recover from matches of five and four sets. I’m sure [JJ] it’s going to go up in the rankings. “
Wolf, who has great service and a barber with a sense of humor, made headlines earlier in the week when he had to deny that an Instagram photo of him mimicking the “OK” sign from alt-right white power did not represent their points of view. In race. He was also photographed wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt.
