Serena survives US Open scare
Ace ends Kanepi run to join champ Stevens in last 8
New York – Six-time champion Serena Williams survived a spirited challenge from unseeded Kaia Kanepi to triumph 6-0 4-6 6-3 on Sunday and reach the quarterfinals of the US Open. The 23-time Grand Slam champion looked set to romp home when she seized the first set from Kanepi in just 18 minutes. But the hard-hitting Estonian, who took out world number one Simona Halep in the first round, settled down in the second set, shaking off the partisan crowd in a jammed Arthur Ashe Stadium to push Williams the rest of the way. “It wasn’t an easy match at all,” said Williams, who let out what she called a “Serena scream” after ripping a backhand cross court to hold serve in the opening game of the third set. “Winning a big game and a very important game and a really tight game, I think it was just a relief,” said Williams, who took control with a break in the next game and maintained that advantage until she fired a forehand winner on her first match point. Williams finished with 18 aces and 47 total winners. A couple of loose points gifted Kanepi a break in the first game of the second set, however, and she couldn’t get back on terms. “She’s had a lot of big wins in her career. I was just happy to get through it, to be honest,” Williams said. Williams booked a quarterfinal date with Karolina Pliskova, the eighth-seeded Czech who beat Australian Ashleigh Barty 6-4 6-4. Pliskova defeated Williams in the semifinals in New York in 2016. Defending champ Sloane Stephens, the third seed, eased past Elise Mertens 63 6-3 to book a quarterfinal rematch with Latvian Anastasija Sevastova. Sevastova toppled seventhseeded Elina Svitolina 6-3 1-6 6-0, leaving just two of the top 10 women’s seeds remaining. Stephens, runner-up to Halep at the French Open, was looking forward to taking on Sevastova again in her bid to push ahead in her title defence. “Obviously it won’t be easy,” she said. “Quarterfinals of a Grand Slam is always really tough. A big opportunity for both of us. Being defending champion, being able to get to the quarterfinals again, is incredible. I’m just going to try to keep building on that and keep going.” –