Williams serves up show of will

NEW YORK • Another comeback victory in the books, Serena Williams waved to two of the very rare spectators at this twilight zone of a US Open: Her husband Alexis Ohanian and their daughter, Olympia, who turned three last week.

"I hope she saw her mama fighting," the former world No. 1 said. "I don't think she was paying attention. She may have been playing with some princesses upstairs."

If so, Olympia missed the chance to watch the third seed force her tricky third-round match with Sloane Stephens into a U-turn on the strength of her serve and her will, prevailing 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday.

It was a symmetrical score line, but an uneven and ultimately anti-climactic duel between two Americans who have had breakthrough moments in Arthur Ashe Stadium when it was full of fans instead of being all but empty because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Williams, a six-time US Open champion, and Stephens, who won the title in 2017, seldom managed to play well at the same time.

Stephens could do little wrong in the first set - making five unforced errors to her opponent's 13 as she absorbed her pace, dominated the extended rallies and exploited patterns.

But the serve remains the pacemaker for Williams' game, and when it started working, she started ripping open-stance forehand winners, shoring up her shaky backhand and making fewer mistakes on the move.

With her 39th birthday looming later this month, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is not as quick into and out of the corners as she was in her prime.

However, she did not waver in finishing off the 26th seed, winning 10 of the last 12 games to complete the victory, leading Stephens to hail her opponent's serve as "one of the greatest in the game".

Today, Williams will get a rematch with 15th seed Maria Sakkari in the fourth round.

The Greek upset Williams in the last 16 nearly two weeks ago at the Western and Southern Open, but she is not expecting a similar straightforward outcome here.

Matteo Berrettini (Ita) bt Casper Ruud (Nor) 6-4 6-4 6-2, Andrey Rublev (Rus) bt Salvatore Caruso (Ita) 6-0 6-4 6-0, Frances Tiafoe (USA) bt Marton Fucsovics (Hun) 6-2 6-3 6-2, Vasek Pospisil (Can) bt Roberto Bautista (Esp) 7-5 2-6 4-6 6-3 6-2, Alex de Minaur (Aus) bt Karen Khachanov (Rus) 6-4 0-6 4-6 6-3 6-1, Felix Auger-Aliassime (Can) bt Corentin Moutet (Fra) 6-1 6-0 6-4.

Alize Cornet (Fra) bt Madison Keys (USA) 7-6 (7-4) 3-2 (retired), Tsvetana Pironkova (Bul) bt Donna Vekic (Cro) 6-4 6-1, Maria Sakkari (Gre) bt Amanda Anisimova (USA) 6-3 6-1, Victoria Azarenka (Blr) bt Iga Swiatek (Pol) 6-4 6-2, Karolina Muchova (Cze) bt Sorana Cirstea (Rou) 6-3 2-6 7-6 (9-7), Elise Mertens (Bel) bt Caty McNally (USA) 7-5 6-1.

"Serena is Serena," the world No. 22 said after advancing on Saturday by disposing of American Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-1. "You have to come up with some great tennis. Otherwise, there is no chance against her."

In a rematch of their Melbourne Park quarter-final in January, Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin weathered a barrage of 35 winners from Ons Jabeur by breaking the Tunisian's serve three times en route to a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory.

The second seed recovered from a 4-2 deficit in the opening set, marking the first time the world No. 4 American has reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.

In the men's draw, both second seed Dominic Thiem and third seed Daniil Medvedev also moved into the last 16.

Austria's Thiem conquered former US Open champion Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, while Russia's Medvedev downed American Jeffrey Wolf 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. They will next face Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and American Frances Tiafoe respectively.

NYTIMES, XINHUA

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