Serena Williams survived a second-round scare at the U.S. Open on
Wednesday with a 5-7 6-3 6-1 win over American wildcard Catherine McNally to
keep alive her hopes of securing a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title.
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Aug
28, 2019; Flushing, NY, USA; Serena Williams of the USA hits to Catherine
McNally of the USA in the second round on day three of the 2019 U.S. Open
tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory
Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
World number eight Williams, who
captured the first of her six U.S. Open titles two years before her 17-year-old
opponent was born, spent the first half of the match trying to find her rhythm
but when she did she was off to the races.“She really came out and played really well, she showed no fear,” said Williams. “She had absolutely nothing to lose and she played like it.”
McNally, competing in only her sixth
tour-level event of her career and against the highest-ranked player she has
ever faced, used an old-school serve-and-volley approach along with a lethal
slice backhand to unsettle Williams.
So effective was McNally, who has
tried to model parts of her game after Swiss great Roger Federer, that at one
point in the match Williams screamed at her racquet “why are you missing?”.
But Williams, whose earliest U.S.
Open exit came in her 1997 debut when she lost in the third round, turned the
match around when she finally broke McNally’s serve and then consolidated in a
tight service game for a 5-2 lead in the second set.
Williams looked more like herself in
the decider - both serving and returning better - as she went up a double break
for a quick 3-0 lead before storming home and sealing the match when she broke
to love.
“I survived tonight,” said Williams.
“I am not too pleased with the way I played at all,” said Williams, whose 28
unforced errors were two fewer than McNally.
“But it’s OK, I’m alive, I’m still
here and happy to be on this court. I’ll do better. I promise.”
Williams dropped only one point
through her first three service games but it took her some time to make any
inroads on the McNally serve as the American was hitting her targets with
pinpoint precision.
The match proved a far more grueling
affair for Williams than she had in her opener, where she dismantled Maria
Sharapova with one of her most dominant performances since returning from
maternity leave in 2018.
McNally said she did not feel
intimated walking onto the biggest stage in tennis to face one of the game’s
all-time best players and left the match feeling beyond proud of what she
accomplished.
“I got a set off Serena Williams. Had
her close in the second set, too. Had some chances,” said McNally.
“For me, it just gives me a lot of
confidence, shows me that I can compete out on the biggest stages. Just keep my
head down, I’m ready to go back to work.”
Up next for Williams will be either
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei or Czech Karolina Muchova, who were unable to get their
match in earlier due to rainy conditions. - Reuters
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