Williams, Stephens to square off next
Serena struggles slightly but stays in pursuit of her 24th Grand Slam title.
NEW YORK — Yes, Serena Williams won in straight sets again. And yes, she moved into an all-American showdown at the U.S. Open against Sloane Stephens. Still, this victory did not quite go according to plan.
Her serve only so-so at times, her footwork a bit off, Williams got by and got through Thursday night against an opponent ranked 117th, beating Margarita Gasparyan 6-2, 6-4 and letting out a cry of “Yes!” at the end that reverberated in a nearly empty Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It sounded more like relief than excitement.
“The only thing holding me back is that I get frustrated,” said Williams, who has won six of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles at Flushing Meadows and was the runnerup the last two years. “But I’m out here, I’m fighting. It was just a minor setback. If anything, it could help me know what not to do next time.”
That’ll be Saturday against Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion. It is their seventh matchup; Williams leads 5-1, including victories in the last four meetings, but they last played at the 2015 French Open. Stephens’ lone head-to-head victory came at the 2013 Australian Open.
This caliber of contest certainly doesn’t feel as if it belongs in the third round at a Slam, but that’s the luck of the draw this time.
What will also be odd: the quiet. All spectators were banned this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I know if there were fans it would be so lit, and I’m kind of sad that we’re not playing in front of fans, because it would be so fun,” said the 26thseeded Stephens, who advanced by defeating Olga Govortsova 6-2, 6-2. “The atmosphere won’t be as big, but obviously a big opportunity to play against the greatest player in the world. So, yeah, unfortunate but still fortunate.”
Louis Armstrong Stadium was covered during the second set of 2019 men’s runnerup Daniil Medvedev’s 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over 116th-ranked Christopher O’Connell, but matches on all the outside courts were suspended in the evening because of rain.
Earlier men’s winners included No. 2 Dominic Thiem, No. 11 Karen Khachanov, 2014 champion Marin Cilic and unseeded Americans Frances Tiafoe and J.J. Wolf. No. 14 Grigor Dimitrov and No. 25 Milos Raonic were eliminated.
No. 9 seed Johanna Konta lost 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 to Sorana Cirstea, and No. 10 Garbine Muguruza — who owns two major titles — was beaten 7-5, 6-3 by Tsvetana Pironkova, who took a three-year break from pro tennis to have a son and is in her first tournament since Wimbledon in 2017.
Other women moving into the third round included No. 2 Sofia Kenin, who won the Australian Open in February; No. 7 Madison Keys, No. 15 Maria Sakkari, No. 18 Donna Vekic and No. 22 Amanda Anisimova, a 19-year-old American who beat 16-yearold American Kristina Scott.