Serena Williams prolonged her stay at the 2022 US Open with a 7-6(4) 2-6 6-2 upset of second seed Anett Kontaveit in the second round at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night. The tennis legend, currently ranked No.605, has no intention of ending her singles career without giving her all on the court and we know that she finds immense power reserves and mental strength under pressure.
“I’m a pretty good player, this is what I do best. I love a challenge and I’m rising to the challenge,” said Williams after stunning the world No.2 Kontaveit, the only player with over 50 hard-court wins since the start of 2021.
When asked whether she was surprised by her level, the 23-time Grand Slam champion who remains undefeated in the first two rounds of the US Open replied: “No. I’m just Serena.”
“Just Serena” was too much for Kontaveit on Wednesday, even though the Estonian was pleased with her performance: “I think she played really well. I mean, I thought I didn’t play a bad match at all. She definitely raised her level in the third set. She played amazing.”
Williams’ career record versus Top-2 ranked opponents is now 48-15, and she’s won 23 of the last 25.
The US Open set another record for night-session attendance on Wednesday with 29,959 fans coming to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. It’s the second night-session attendance record set in three nights at the US Open, breaking Monday’s 29,402 mark that also set an all-time record for an Opening Night.
In Friday’s third round, the 40-year-old Williams will be a favorite in the first career meeting with world No.46 Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia. Williams feels fit, moves well, has absolutely nothing to prove and nothing to lose:
“Honestly, I never get to play like this since ’98 really. Literally, I’ve had an X on my back since ’99. It’s kind of fun. I really enjoy just coming out and enjoying it. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to do that.”
