Serena Williams battled into the quarter-finals of the US Open at Flushing Meadows on Monday, while second seed Sofia Kenin was sent crashing out in the last 16 by Elise Mertens.
Williams had to summon up every last ounce of strength to depose 15th seed Maria Sakkari in three hard-fought sets to keep her bid for a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam singles title alive.
The 38-year-old needed almost two-and-a-half hours to dislodge her 25-year-old Greek opponent 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 inside an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Photo: AP
“She’s such a good competitor. It was a really intense match,” said Williams, who had been dumped out of a US Open tune-up tournament by the same opponent last month. “I felt like she almost played better today. I was a little fatigued last time and had some cramps. Just felt like I was able to compete longer.”
There was little separating the players throughout the energy-sapping contest, with Williams notching 107 total points to Sakkari’s 99.
Williams won 72 percent of points off her first serve, while Sakkari won 73 percent. Sakkari also outdid Williams on aces 13 to 12.
Williams rallied from two games down in the deciding set, pumping herself up with loud screams that echoed around the spectator-free arena as she broke Sakkari twice to clinch the last-eight spot.
“I’m super passionate. This is my job. This is what I wake up to do. This is what I train to do 365 days of the year,” Williams said afterward.
The American faces Tsvetana Pironkova for a place in the semi-finals after the Bulgarian ousted France’s Alize Cornet in another draining three-setter.
Pironkova, playing her first tournament in three years after a lengthy break in which she gave birth, prevailed 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“It’s absolutely unreal, I really can’t believe it,” said Pironkova, whose last tournament appearance before this year’s US Open was the 2017 Wimbledon championships, when she exited in the second round.
Mertens ousted Kenin, this year’s Australian Open champion, 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour, 14 minutes to set up a last-eight tie with former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka.
The Belarusian overcame 20th seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in 2:30 at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Separately, world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty has opted out of a second Grand Slam event amid the COVID-19 pandemic, this time skipping a title defense at the French Open.
After pulling out of the US Open, Barty has also decided against traveling to Europe for a clay-court tournament in Rome and the rescheduled French Open from Sept. 27 because of concerns over the pandemic.
She has indicated that she might not play competitively again until next year.
Additional reporting by AP
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