Serena Williams shocks World No. 2 Anett Kontaveit for improbable run at final US Open
- Serena Williams defeated World No. 2 Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday.
- It is likely the final tournament of Williams' illustrious 20-plus-year career.
NEW YORK — Serena Williams' storybook tennis career will live to see another day.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion shocked World No. 2 Anett Kontaveit 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 under the lights at Arthur Ashe Arena to advance to the third round of the 2022 US Open — what is likely the final tournament of her illustrious career.
The 40-year-old Williams dug deep to win the first set after a grueling tiebreak and some remarkable tennis on both sides. The star-studded crowd allowed itself to believe the GOAT would somehow pull off the impossible just one more time.
Williams herself was seemingly unsurprised by what had unfolded before her. After delivering an ace down the line to seal the set, she paused just inside the baseline, pumped her first, and stared toward her box as if to tell her loved ones: "Here we go."
"Very simple: I like to ace when I'm up set point or match point or hit a winner," Williams told Insider after the match. "I was like, yes, I love hitting aces on those types of points."
But all fairytales must come to an end, right? The 40-year-old seemed to run out of gas to start the second set — as someone who's played on that very same court for 20-plus years might be expected to.
Kontaveit won two quick breaks to leave Williams in a 3-0 hole. Though Williams broke back to get on the board and held serve in the seventh game, the Estonian star was able to secure the set with a considerable cushion.
By the third — nearly an hour and 45 minutes into the match — the momentum was firmly in Kontaveit's favor. But Williams found a second wind. She held her serve to open the set, then battled through a long, back-and-forth game before breaking Kontaveit's serve.
Much of the crowd rewarded Williams with a standing ovation. But a seemingly unwavering Kontaveit won the break the following game.
A resolute Williams broke right back, then held her serve without surrendering a single point. Both sides held for the next two games, and when Williams secured a 5-2 lead in the decisive set, the crowd rose to its feet for a resounding standing ovation.
She was really going to pull off the improbable.
And she did, in classic Serena style. Williams broke Kontaveit's serve to win the match, again refusing her opponent a single point.
Arthur Ashe rose to its feet for the final point, then exploded as tennis' greatest star sent the decisive shot down the line.
Williams will take the court again Friday in Flushing Meadows, facing World No. 46 Ajla Tomljanović in what will once again be an upset bid for the GOAT. But at this point, no one in their right mind would rule her out.