Serena Williams roared into the third round of the US Open tennis championship on Wednesday, overpowering second seed Anett Kontaveit with a battling performance that extended her Grand Slam singles career in dramatic fashion.
Forty-year-old Williams, who has hinted she plans to retire after this tournament, needed all her resilience and fighting spirit to take down Kontaveit in an electrifying three-setter at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Kontaveit appeared to have gained the upper hand over the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion when she levelled the match at 1-1 with a dominant second set display.
But Williams showed her champion's mentality as she regained momentum in the decider, breaking Kontaveit twice before cllinching victory to leave a sell-out crowd on its feet.
"This is what I do best," a delighted Williams said after her win.
"I love a challenge and love rising to the challenge. I haven't played many matches but I've been practicing really well and my last few matches it just wasn't coming together ... But the last couple of matches here in New York it's really come together."
Williams admitted she had feared the worst after she was unable to respond as Kontaveit upped her game to take the second set.
'I thought this could be it'
"I thought 'Oh my goodness, I've got to give my best effort because this could be it'," Williams said. "I just wanted to keep trying and see what I could do and do my best."
Williams, who won the first of her Grand Slam singles titles as a 17-year-old at the US Open in 1999, said she was now playing without feeling any pressure.
"I don't have anything to prove, I don't have anything to win. I have absolutely nothing to lose," she said.
Defeated Kontaveit admitted she had been rattled by the ferociously partisan New York crowd.
"I expected it but it was really hard," Kontaveit said. "I knew it was coming. It was something I'd never experienced before."
Williams will return to Arthur Ashe on Thursday to take part in the women's doubles, where she will reunite with her sister Venus for the first time since 2018.
Shocks for other seeds
In other women's draw action on Wednesday, China's Wang Xiyu upset third seed Maria Sakkari of Greece, winning 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.
The 21-year-old had never been past the second round of a Grand Slam tournament before, but uncorked 35 winners while saving 12 of 17 break points to secure her win.
Wang, ranked 75th in the world, has happy memories of New York, having won the junior US Open title at the venue in 2018.
Jabeur sails into last 32
Tunisia's beaten Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur sailed into the last 32 with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Elizabeth Mandlik of the United States.
The USA's 12th-seeded Coco Gauff, meanwhile, advanced to the third round with a 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) win over unseeded Romanian Elena Gabriela Ruse.
That win sets up an all-American showdown between Gauff and 20th seed Madison Keys, who needed three sets to edge past Italy's Camila Giorgi, winning 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (10/6).
Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 runner-up, exited at the hands of Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
