NEW YORK (AP) – In her first U.S. Open appearance since she debuted 22 years ago, Serena Williams changed things and took over Sloane Stephens.
Williams emerged from the third-round bout between two American champions at Flushing Meadows (he won six of his 23 singles Grand Slam names on the spot) with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Stephens’ 2017 name list Saturday.
Williams’ 3-year-old daughter Olympia then wore a mask and greeted Mom as she sat on her father’s lap in the front row.In the locker room, Williams greeted him.
“I hope, ” Williams, “to have seen your mother fight.
Williams did it, like her, with his most productive service in the game, achieving 12 aes at a speed of up to 122 mph while he was actually composed halfway through the set of moments, and an ability to recalibrate his bottomstrokes.first and very good on the stretch.
“She served much better,” Stephens said, now 1-6 against Williams, have not faced each other since 2015.”Obviously, it has one of the most productive facilities in the game.In fact, it’s hard to read.”
Williams has racked up 10 of the last 12 games by raising his level, of course, but he helped Stephens go from betting almost perfectly to missing more and more. After mistakes, Stephens looked at his coach, Kamau Murray, or hit his right thigh with his palm so hard it echoed an almost empty Arthur Ashe stadium.
“In that first set, I don’t think I made any mistakes, honestly.He played so fair. I said, ‘I don’t need to lose in two sets,’ said Williams, whose only loss in his career at the U.S. Open before.the fourth circular came in third place as opposed to Irina Spirlea in 1998 at the age of 16.
Williams, who will turn 39 in 3 weeks, said he said Saturday: “Okay, Serena, play a game.Get a game.”
Of course, there were no fans, banned because of the coronavirus pandemic, so everything was more like a workout than a high-risk competition on a Grand Slam stage.
There were players to watch, in addition to the fifteenth seed Maria Sakkari, who drank orange juice and had lunch on the balcony of his player suite.Sakkari had a direct interest: he faces Williams for a place in the quarter-finals.
Others in the fourth round: No.16 Elise Mertens, No.20 Karolina Muchova and Tsvetana Pironkova, who beat No.18 Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-1.
On the men’s side, 2019 finalist Daniil Medvedev and some other semi-finalist a year ago, the No.6 Matteo Berrettini have advanced, as has the No.10 Andrey Rublev, the No.15 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No.21 Alex de Minaur and Vasek Pospisil, who has made headlines in recent years because he has partnered with Novak Djokovic to create a new arrangement representing the players.
Pospisil eliminated No.8 Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5, 2-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, and then faced five-set winner Minaur, who beat No.11 Karen Khachanov 6-4, 0 -6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Williams vs. Williams Sakkari is a refurbishment of its fit won last month through Sakkari at the Western and South Open, a hard-court tournament played on the U.S. site.Open from his own home in Ohio because of the pandemic.
“You know, Serena is Serena,” Sakkari said after advancing the previous Saturday by beating American Amanda Anisimova, 19, 6-3, 6-1.”You have to locate the tennis. Otherwise, there is no possibility of opposing it.
Stephens did that even first thing on Saturday.
He played patient tennis, waiting for the right moment, creating long and confusing problems that ended with Williams blinking first.
The end of the first set encountered widespread silence, not even the soundtrack awkwardly broadcast other matches to simulate ambient noise.
From 2 to all in the second, Williams nonetheless made forays, racked up a break point, then broke for the first time when Stephens missed a forehand, as part of a stretch in which Williams hit 12 of 15 points.
She’s on her way. And now she has four wins after adding to her number of Grand Slam trophies, which are 23 since she won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant.
When asked Saturday about the benefits of being active on an excursion as a parent, Williams said, “One day your daughter will be able to say she was there.Whether you remember it or not, we can have pictures.But other than that, it’s just (a) less, like: I’m not with her, I’m not with her.It’s hard.”
Williams has red the last 4 of the last seven majors, wasting time.
“We all hope he can do it,” Stephens said. “If he feels pressure, I hope he passes and gets to 24.”
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