Serena Williams beats 2nd seed Kontaveit to qualify for 3rd round of US Open

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Serena Williams on Thursday beat Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit 2-1 to advance to the third round of the US Open.

Williams, a six-time US Open champion, defeated world number two Kontaveit with sets of 7-6, 2-6, and 6-2 in the second round that lasted two hours and 27 minutes at Arthur Ashe stadium.

The 40-year-old player will face Ajla Tomljanovic from Australia in the next round.

Meanwhile, Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 runner-up, suffered a surprise defeat in the second round of the tournament, being beaten 2-0 by Liudmila Samsonov of Russia.

In the men's singles, reigning champion Daniil Medvedev advanced to the next round after defeating Arthur Rinderknech from France with 6-2, 7-5, and 6-3 results.

Medvedev will take on Chinese player Yibing Wu in the third round.

Casper Ruud, Jack Draper, Pablo Carreno-Busta, Matteo Berrettini, Alex De Minaur, and Nick Kyrgios have moved to the next round after beating their opponents.