Williams gets behind, gets ‘relaxed,’ wins

‘I start to play better’ when trailing, she says of win over Bertens

NEW YORK — Her match over, Serena Williams threw on a white T-shirt and moved almost directly to an outside practice court with her coach. A news conference and other niceties could wait. A crowd formed in the little grandstand by the far practice court, bigger than those at some of the actual U.S. Open playing courts as Williams worked on serves, especially second serves.

“Just trying to get those second serves in,” Williams said later of what was on her mind inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

During the first set of the second round Wednesday, her second serves kept turning into double faults. Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands had grabbed a quick lead and stayed relaxed. Williams was back on the high wire where she has spent so much of the early rounds of this year’s Grand Slams.

Williams survived, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, after falling behind a break, getting it back, and then dropping the first four points of the first-set tiebreaker.

“When I get down, I tend to get really relaxed and I start to play better,” Williams said.

In winning this year’s three earlier Slams, Williams had dropped a set half the time in her matches through the first four rounds, taking each to the three-set limit. It’s not as if she tries to start slowly, she says. (From the quarters on, she dropped only three sets in the Slams, two at the French Open.)

Since she is trying to become the first man or woman to complete the Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988, things obviously turned around each time. Of the nine times Williams dropped a set at a Grand Slam, she lost more than three games in the final set only once, in the third round at Wimbledon. During Wimbledon, Chris Evert said, “She plays her best when she gets angry.”

Asked if she enjoys the “nerve-racking stuff you’re going through,” Williams said, “Until today, I was OK with it. You know, I just got a little nervous today. ... I’ve been completely relaxed, chill. I’ve been really, really fine. So I’m going to get back into the place that I was and I’ll be fine again.”

Her time on the practice court indicated there were technical aspects that needed to be worked on probably more than any psychological issues. Williams also said she felt a little tight during the match but added that it was correctable.

When you’re on a march to history, everything gets dissected. Afterward, Williams was asked if there was any time this year, after any match, that she felt satisfied or close to satisfied. “Let’s see ...” She conjured up one tournament ... “Definitely not there.”

“I’m sure there are a couple,” Williams said. “I just can’t think of one now.”

Those second serves in the first set were enough to focus on. Williams won only seven of 21 second serves in the set, and of those 14 lost points, eight came on double faults.

So maybe it doesn’t matter that there are no other top-10 seeds left in her half of the draw. Any obstacles in her way, Williams usually puts them up herself. Although she feels confident in her ability to counteract them.

“I’ve always made some legendary comebacks,” Williams said, relieved there wasn’t a need for one on this day.

In doubles action, it took Asia Muhammad four tries, but she finally tasted victory at a Grand Slam tournament.

The 24-year-old Las Vegan teamed with Maria Sanchez to defeat Ajla Tomljanovic and Jarmila Gajdosova 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-2 to advance to the second round.

Muhammad, ranked No. 95 in doubles by the WTA Tour computer, had lost in the first round in doubles in three previous tries — all at Flushing Meadows — in 2008, 2009 and 2014.

“There’s nothing better than winning at the Open,” Muhammad said. “We had the crowd behind us, and it was a great feeling to finally advance.”

Muhammad and Sanchez recorded nine aces andhad just three unforced errors.

“We went out there aggressive, and that mindset helped us,”Muhammad said. “We’re both tall and athletic, and when we come forward, we can shrink the court and not give our opponents as much room.”

Muhammad and Sanchez on Friday will face the winner of today’s match between Sara Errani-Flavia Pennetta and Irina Falconi-Anna Tatishvili.