NEW YORK – In danger of her earliest exit at the U.S. Open since her debut 22 years ago, Serena Williams turned things around and took over against Sloane Stephens.
Williams emerged from Saturday’s third-round matchup between two Americans who are past champions at Flushing Meadows – Williams has won six of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles there – with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over 2017 winner Stephens.
Afterward, Williams’ 3-year-old daughter, Olympia, wore a mask and waved at Mom while sitting on her father’s lap in a front-row seat. On her way to the locker room, Williams waved back.
“I hope,” Williams said, “that she saw her mama fighting.”
Williams did it, as she so often does, with her best-in-the-game serve, hitting 12 aces at up to 122 mph as it got really dialed in midway through the second set, and an ability to recalibrate her groundstrokes that were so awry early and so superb down the stretch.