If this match had been in Adelaide or Prague or any other WTA Tour stop, maybe Anett Kontaveit would’ve defeated Serena Williams.
But in New York and Arthur Ashe Stadium, Serena is still Serena. Kontaveit didn’t play badly in the least. This match wasn’t handed to Serena. She had to earn it, with her powerful serve back on target through much of the match, and she frequently destroyed Kontaveit’s second serve.
She did drop a set. That, though, just made her ramp up the intensity.
“Oh my goodness. I’ve got to give my best effort because this could be it,” Serena said of her third-set mindset in her postmatch interview.
And this isn’t a typical tournament for her. She doesn’t need to do anything else to cement her legacy. She doesn’t want to lose, of course, and she’ll rev it up when her back’s against the wall as it was after 100 minutes on the court. But after years – decades, really – of being the player with the target on her back, she’s enjoying the pressure-free days of being an underdog.
“I have nothing to lose.”
And probably a bit more to win.
That’s it for the Serena Show tonight. She’ll be back in singles action on Friday. But she’ll also be back on this same stage – same time, same place – Thursday night as she and her sister Venus start their run in the doubles draw.
Serena Williams advances to the third round
Needing a composed return to the form she has had through much of this match, Kontaveit instead double-faults. She misses her next serve as well and loses the rally off her second. She again misses her first serve, and Serena’s return of the second is deadly. Kontaveit stays in briefly but hits in the net.
Triple match point.
Fault.
Second serve, and Serena just pounces. It’s over. Final: 7-6, 2-6, 6-2
