Reuters
New York, Sept 5: Serena Williams flirted with Grand Slam danger once again but kept her calendar-year Grand Slam bid on track by beating a battling, 101st-ranked Bethanie Mattek-Sands 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 at the US Open Friday.
“I’m not trying to live on the edge,” the 33-year-old American said in an on-court interview. “I’m playing players that come out really strong. I just think Bethanie played really well.”
The World No. 1 looked out of sorts at the start, broken twice in dropping the first set to the aggressive Mattek-Sands.
Williams at times appeared to be trying too hard, putting extra effort into opportunities to produce a service break and often over hitting and sending shots wide or long.
She won only one of seven break points in the first set, and two of nine in the second.
A service break by Williams in the last game of the second set, on her second set point, forced the decider and by then Williams seemed to have relaxed and produced the prodigious power that has carried her to a 51-2 record this year.
Williams next faces fellow American Madison Keys who advanced 6-3, 6-2 over 15th seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.
Venus Williams struck a blow for the older set and stayed on course for a quarterfinals collision with her sister Serena Williams by beating Swiss teen Belinda Bencic.
Venus produced a vintage power-game performance to beat up-and-coming 18-year-old Bencic 6-3, 6-4 in a third-round match-up between the oldest and youngest players left in the women’s draw.
Venus said Serena offered some advice on playing Bencic, but added that Williams family revenge was not on her mind. “Whoever is across the net, that’s who I want to beat,” she said.
Venus will meet Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit in the round of 16. Anett was a 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 winner over American Madison Brengle.
Russian 13th seed Ekaterina Makarova, a semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows last year also progressed. Despite cramps that hit her during the last game of her match, she beat 17th seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-3, 7-5.
Makarova next meets France’s Kristina Mladenovic, a 6-2, 6-3 winner against Russian Daria Kasatkina.
Results
Serena Williams bt Bethanie Mattek-Sands 3-6, 7-5, 6-0
Madison Keys bt Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-2
Venus bt Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4
Anett Kontaveit bt Madison Brengle 6-2, 3-6, 6-0
Ekaterina Makarova bt Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-5
Kristina Mladenovic bt Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-3