By Dwight Casimere
Photo: Getty Images
“I’ve been practicing really well, but the last two matches, it just hadn’t come together. This time it did. I’m just Serena, you know!” That was a confident Serena Williams reacting to her upset win over World No. 2 Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2, Wednesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“Actually, it (the win) was just a bonus,” she said in her post-match courtside interview with ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez. “I don’t have anything to lose. I don’t have anything to win. I haven’t played like this since ’98, really. Literally, I’ve had an ‘X’ on my back since ’99. So, it’s kind of fun, and I really enjoy just coming out and enjoying it. It’s been a long time since I’ve really been able to do that.”
Looking joyful and still full of bounce after the 2 hour, 26 minute trouncing, Serena basked in the glory of her victory, acknowledging the huge outpouring of love from her fans. “I’m loving this crowd. Oh my goodness. It’s really fantastic. There’s still a little left in me.”
A record 29, 959 fans crowd filled the stands and watched on big screens around the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, while 2.7 viewers tuned into the live cast on ESPN, four times more than last year. This was the second record set in the Open’s three night run, breaking Monday’s opening day mark.
Tiger Woods led the celebrity contingent cheering the tennis legend on. Among them, singing legend’s Dionne Warwick, whom did TV commentators achingly misidentify as Gladys Knight, who was also in the stands.
Williams won a hard-fought battle to win the first set against the 26-year-old Kontaveit, who has five titles under her belt over the past year.
The second set was an entirely different story, with Kontaveit dominating play even as the crowd booed her over a questionable line call. The Queen quickly silenced the rabble with a single swipe of a chastising finger.
After a brief locker room break, Serena seemed lighter and more agile, covering the baseline like her 19-year-old self and delivering more of her signature power serve, with 11 aces in all.
Speaking with reporters in interview room No.1 after the match, Serena joked, “I just got lighter” (during the break). “It wasn’t No. 2”
The six-time US Open champion takes on No. 46 Ajla Tomljanovic. Serena’s only third-round defeat at Flushing Meadows came in her debut in 1998.
Contemplating her fist meeting with the six-time US Open Champion, the Australian newbie opined “No matter the fact that I’ve been a Serena fan since I was kid, I’ll just be a competitor and try my best to win.”
Match time is 6pm Central on ESPN.
