Williams takes 5-2 lead in third set
Williams leads 4-1 over Kontaveit in third set
Williams takes 2-1 lead in third set over Kontaveit
Williams takes 1-0 lead in third set
Kontaveit, Williams move to a third set
Kontaveit holds 5-2 lead over Williams in 2nd set
Williams falls behind by 4-1 in second set
Kontaveit takes 3-1 lead over Williams in second set
Kontaveit quickly takes 2-0 lead over Williams in second set
Williams wins first set against Kontaveit 7-6 (7-4)
Kontaveit breaks back, takes 6-5 lead over Williams
Williams breaks Kontaveit, takes 5-4 lead
Kontaveit takes 4-3 lead after lengthy game
Match tied at 3-3 as Williams is keeping pace
Williams takes 5-2 lead in third set
Williams leads 4-1 over Kontaveit in third set
Williams takes 2-1 lead in third set over Kontaveit
Williams takes 1-0 lead in third set
Kontaveit, Williams move to a third set
Kontaveit holds 5-2 lead over Williams in 2nd set
Williams falls behind by 4-1 in second set
Kontaveit takes 3-1 lead over Williams in second set
Kontaveit quickly takes 2-0 lead over Williams in second set
Williams wins first set against Kontaveit 7-6 (7-4)
Kontaveit breaks back, takes 6-5 lead over Williams
Williams breaks Kontaveit, takes 5-4 lead
Kontaveit takes 4-3 lead after lengthy game
Match tied at 3-3 as Williams is keeping pace
NEW YORK — Serena Williams overcame a grizzly challenge from the No. 2 player in the world in the second round at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, defeating Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-2.
With the win, she advances to face No. 46 Ajla Tomljanović of Australia on Friday.
If this U.S. Open is going to double as Serena Williams’s retirement party, she’s not ready for the gold watch just yet. The 40-year-old superstar reached the third round with a 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-2 win Wednesday over second-ranked Anett Kontaveit before a roaring crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Serena Williams reached a 5-2 lead over Anett Kontaveit in the third set. Williams raised her fists in celebration after pounding a half-court volley winner to take a pivotal seventh game of the third set. Williams and Kontaveit had reached deuce on the former’s serve before going back and forth for several tense points.
Kontaveit had held at love in the sixth game to get to 4-2. Williams is now one game away from a riveting triumph over the No. 2 seed.
Serena Williams got within two games of what would technically be a major upset over second-seeded Anett Kontaveit, considering the American entered the match ranked No. 413. Of course, that has mostly to do with the paltry amount of tennis Williams has played of late, but you wouldn’t know that from her performance tonight.
Looking energetic and decisive, Williams held serve in the third set to take a 4-1 lead in their second-round match.
After two long, hard-fought games that went to deuce a number of times, Williams broke Kontaveit fairly quickly in the fourth game to get to 3-1. She got the help of a friendly net cord to hit a winner at 15-30 and, to the delirious delight of the crowd, closed the game one point later.
Serena Williams took a 2-1 lead over second-ranked Anett Kontaveit in the deciding third set of their match. Williams got to 40-0 on serve in the third game, but Kontaveit battled back to deuce and after a long battle got the break she may well have needed to stay in the match.
Up 1-0 in the set, Williams held a break point against Kontaveit in the second game but, to the audible dismay of fans, dumped a forehand into the net for deuce. Two points later, with Williams at ad-out, Kontaveit hit a shot that was ruled in by the slimmest of margins. When the crowd groaned, Williams motioned for it to pipe down, but Arthur Ashe Stadium erupted moments later when the 40-year-old superstar got the break for a 2-0 lead.
Serena Williams left the court to take a break, then returned composed and ready to win the first game of the third set over Anett Kontaveit.
Through two sets, Williams had nine aces to her opponent’s three, but Kontaveit held a 13-4 advantage on second serve points won. That suggested maintaining a strong first serve would be integral to Williams’s chances of prevailing in the match, and she was able to do that in the first game of the third.
Anett Kontaveit made short work of Serena Williams in the eighth game of the second set and won it at 6-2 after losing the first in a tiebreaker. The two will decide their match in a third set before a crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium that grew quieter than it had been in the first set.
Serving at 4-1 in the second set, Anett Kontaveit won a service game at love to take a commanding 5-1 lead over Serena Williams. The latter then blanked Kontaveit on her own serve to stay in the set at 5-2.
The No. 2-ranked Estonian star is now leading in total points won, 73-61, but needs to close out this set to stay in the match.
Continuing her barrage of aces, Serena Williams took a 40-0 lead in fifth game but Anett Kontaveit won the next the three points to reach deuce, then had an ad-out advantage before Williams leveled the game with her ninth ace. Another service winner kept her in the game again, but some loose play after that helped Kontaveit regain her double-break advantage in the set, with a 4-1 lead.
Rebounding strongly from a closely lost first set, Anett Kontaveit took a 3-0 lead over Serena Williams to start the second but was broken in the fourth game to trim her lead to 3-1.
Perhaps sensing that her energy level had flagged while falling behind in the second frame, Williams pumped herself up with cries of “Come on!” and “Let’s go!” during the third game. However, Kontaveit forced deuce and won the game on a shot that skipped off the net and fell in Williams’s side for a winner. The fourth game also went to deuce, at which point Kontaveit’s somewhat shaky serving let her down some more.
Anett Kontaveit reacted to losing a tight first set to Serena Williams by quickly winning the first game of the second set at love, in the process breaking her opponent’s serve for the second time. Racking up a major edge in forehand winners, Kontaveit easily held her serve and took a 2-0 lead in the second.
ESPN’s telecast noted that Williams is 99-3 in her career after winning the first set of a match in a Grand Slam singles event.