NEW YORK (Reuters) - 40-year-old Serena Williams roared into the U.S. Open third round with a 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 win over second seed Anett Kontaveit in New York.
Kontaveit leveled the match before Williams broke Kontaveit twice in the decider to seal the victory.
Defending champion Daniil Medvedev also made it into the third round by defeating Arthur Rinderknech of France 6-2, 7-5, 6-3.
Medvedev was a finalist in the 2019 U.S. Open before beating Novak Djokovic last year for his first major title.
In the third round matchup, Medvedev will play against Wu Yibing, the first Chinese mainland player to win a U.S. Open main draw match in the Open era.
Wu kept up his history-making momentum by beating fellow qualifier Nuno Borges of Portugal in a five-set thriller 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
“This is my first Grand Slam second round. It was great for myself that I could maintain my level until the fifth set,” Wu said.
“What I need now is a good rest and to keep my eagerness for victory in the next round,” said the 22-year-old after the four-hour marathon.
The U.S. has been a happy hunting ground for Wu. He became the world No 1 in the ITF juniors ranking after winning the boys’ singles title at the 2017 U.S. Open.
Wang Xiyu of China shocked world No 3 Maria Sakkari of Greece 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, while Zhang Shuai beat Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-5, 6-1, as both Chinese players stormed into the women’s singles round of 32.