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Serena Williams: From reigning the court to leaving tennis as a winner
One of the most prolific sports personalities in the 21st century, Serena Williams hinted at her decision to move on from professional tennis in a first-person essay for Vogue earlier in August. Serena dislikes the term "retirement," preferring to refer to it as an "evolution," as she explains in her essay.
Serena Williams is believed to have made her last professional tennis appearance against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic on September 2, 2022, in the third round of the US Open and brought the curtain to her 27-year long illustrious career. Serena Williams' legacy as a tennis player is discussed in this article.
Serena Williams' early life and family
Born on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan, Serena Williams is the youngest of two daughters of Oracene Price and Richard Williams. Serena’s oldest sister, Venus, was a renowned tennis player.
The Williams family moved to California when their children were young. Serena began playing tennis when she was four years old. Serena and her family moved to Florida when she was nine so that she could attend the tennis academy run by Rick Macci. However, in 1995, Richard pulled his daughters out of Rick Macci's academy, and in the same year, Serena became a pro tennis player.
Richard Williams has been his daughter's official coach all through their career. Her mother, Oracene Price, also guided her two daughters in the initial years of their careers. Aside from them, French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou worked briefly with Serena from 2012 to 2022.
Serena Williams married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian on November 16, 2017 in New Orleans. Two months earlier, in September, Serena gave birth to her first child, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr, who is commonly known as "Olympia".
Serena’s Tennis Career at a Glance
Serena Williams is considered one of the most decorated players in both men's and women's tennis in the open era. Her 23 grand slam titles, most in the open era and the second-most of all-time, speak for themselves. Serena had to wait four years to win her first Grand Slam women’s singles event after making her professional tennis debut at the Bell Challenge in Quebec in October, 1995.
Her first singles Grand Slam victory came at the US Open in 1999. In the following year, 2000, she won her first Olympic gold medal in the singles event. The next decade, the tennis world saw a complete domination by the William sisters, especially the younger one—Serena. Perhaps her greatest rivalry was against her sister, Venus Williams, with whom she also shared tremendous success in doubles events.
At one point, the Serena-Venus pair was untouchable. Together they won 22 women’s doubles titles, which included 14 Grand Slam Women’s Doubles and three Summer Olympics Doubles titles. They were dominant, especially at Wimbledon, where they won six doubles matches. Their Olympic Doubles came in Sydney in 2000, Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. Serena, on the other hand, always maintained dominance over Venus.
Serena's gone, Open must go on: Kvitova, Pegula set rematch
Much like for so many other folks, Serena Williams' last match at the U.S. Open was must-see TV for players still in the tournament, so Jessica Pegula and Petra Kvitova tuned in from their hotel rooms the night before their victories led off Saturday's schedule and set up a fourth-round showdown.
“Of course I watched Serena. I'm like everyone else,” said Pegula, a 28-year-old American who is seeded No. 8 at Flushing Meadows and beat qualifier Yuan Yue 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-0. “You feel kind of sad that’s how it ends. But, I don’t know, like I got a little, like, sentimental, too, watching her, how emotional she was getting.”
Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion from the Czech Republic, credited Williams' last stand — the owner of 23 Grand Slam titles fended off five match points before bowing out in three sets against Ajla Tomljanovic on Friday night in what is expected to be her final contest — with offering inspiration.
“It was very special. She didn’t want to leave the court, for sure. That was the same case with me today, actually. I didn’t want to go out of this tournament, so I was just there hanging (in), somehow,” said Kvitova, who erased deficit after deficit, including a pair of match points, to edge Garbiñe Muguruza 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (12-10).
Read:Let Serena define her legacy as she leaves tennis
“That's what Serena showed last night,” said Kvitova, who dropped her racket and covered her face with her ends when what she called a “nightmare” of a tiebreaker was over. “It was nice to see her yesterday, fighting until the end.”
Yes, Williams is gone, leaving the year's last major tournament — and, in some ways, the sport as a whole — without its biggest star and storyline. Still, the show must go on.
So there was Kvitova, undaunted as ever, despite dropping the first set, despite trailing 5-2 in the third, despite being a point from defeat twice at 6-5.
Here’s how close this one was: Kvitova won 109 total points, Muguruza 108.
“Left everything on the court today,” said No. 9 Muguruza, a two-time Slam winner whose departure means the bracket was without six of the top 10 women before the third round was even done.
No. 1 Iga Swiatek moved into the fourth round by beating Lauren Davis 6-3, 6-4; No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka was playing later Saturday.
During the night session in Ashe, 22-time major champ Rafael Nadal improved his career mark against Richard Gasquet to 18-0 with a 6-0, 6-1, 7-5 victory. Nadal won the opening nine games and was on his way to improving to 22-0 in Grand Slam matches in 2022.
Nadal did not have stitches or a bandage on his nose, two days after accidentally cutting it with his racket during his previous victory.
“A little bit bgger than usual, but it's OK,” he said with a smile. “The nose is still there.”
Nadal's win was followed in Ashe by Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins against Caroline Garcia.
On Monday, Nadal will take on No. 22 Frances Tiafoe, the first American man since Mardy Fish in 2010-12 to get to the U.S. Open's fourth round in three consecutive years. Tiafoe eliminated No. 14 Diego Schwartzman 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-4.
Read: Serena Williams loses to Tomljanovic in US Open farewell
It was going to be tough for any of the day's matches to live up to the sort of attention Williams drew, or the atmosphere she helped create, during her three-match run in Ashe.
“I just can’t believe the ‘era of Serena’ on the tennis court is over,” Pegula said. “I mean, it’s just hard to picture tennis without her.”
In other action Saturday, two-time Australian Open champion Viktoria Azarenka was a 6-3, 6-0 winner against Petra Martic; two-time major runner-up Karolina Pliskova beat Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic 5-7, 6-4, 6-3; No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, a 19-year-old Spaniard, defeated unseeded Jenson Brooksby, a 21-year-old Californian, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; No. 7 Cam Norrie beat No. 28 Holger Rune 7-5, 6-4, 6-1 in the men's draw; No. 9 Andrey Rublev got past No. 19 Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (10-7); and 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic beat No. 20 Dan Evans 7-6 (11), 6-7 (3); 6-2, 7-5. Upcoming matchups include Azarenka vs. Bencic; Alcaraz vs. Cilic, and Norrie vs. Rublev.
As for Kvitova-Muguruza, Rublev-Shapovalov required the new final-set tiebreaker format to determine the winner. The four Grand Slam tournaments agreed to adopt a uniform system this year, with the third sets of women’s matches and fifth sets of men’s decided by a first-to-10, win-by-two formula; the U.S. Open used to have the more traditional first-to-seven setup.
Pegula's domination of her last set made that sort of thing entirely unnecessary. She had wasted a chance to close out the victory a half-hour earlier when she wasn't able to convert her match point, but quickly regrouped.
Pegula started her Grand Slam career by going 3-8. She’s gone 22-7 since, including runs to quarterfinals at the Australian Open each of the past two years and the French Open this year.
The 28-year-old American, whose parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, came into Saturday with an 0-2 record in third-round matches at Flushing Meadows, including a loss to Kvitova in 2020.
Pegula gets another shot at her Monday.
“Petra is so hard to play. I feel like when she’s on, she blows you off the court. And then sometimes she can be off. .. She's a fighter. When it clicks, it’s really difficult,” Pegula said, then was sure to add: “I think I’m a much better player now than I was when I played her last time.”
Dubai Chess: GM Ziaur Rahman, IM Fahad Rahman earn 4.5 points each
Grand Master Ziaur Rahman and International Master Mohammad Fahad Rahman of Bangladesh earned 4.5 points each after the 7th round matches of the 22nd Dubai Open Chess Tournament held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday..Three other Bangladeshi players, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag earned 3.5 points, FM Tahsin Tazwar Zia and FM Md Taibur Rahman scored three points each after the 7th round games. In Friday's 7th round matches, GM Zia lost to GM Iniyan P of India, IM Fahad beat FM Parag, FM Tahsin lost to S Rohit of India while FM Taibur drew with Sabirova Shakhnoza of Uzbekistan.
Also read: Dubai Open Chess: GM Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh in 3rd slotThe 8th and penultimate round matches began at 7 pm on Saturday (Bangladesh time). In the 8th round matches, GM Zia playing against FM Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan of Sri Lanka, IM Fahad playing with GM Muradli Mahammad of Azerbaijan, FM Parag playing with Rohith Krishna S of India, FM Tahsin playing with Joel Paul Ganta of India while FM Taibur playing against FM Ahmed Fareed of United Arab Emirates.
Also read:Dubai Chess: GM Ziaur Rahman shares 2nd place after 3rd round
Let Serena define her legacy as she leaves tennis
After all of the many tributes to Serena Williams were done, the celebratory words and the video montages, the standing ovations and the shouts of her name, it seemed appropriate that she herself would provide the defining look at her legacy.
So the last question at the news conference after her last match of the U.S. Open — and, it seems clear, of her career — offered Williams the chance to say how she’d most like to be remembered.
“I feel like I really brought something, and bring something, to tennis. The different looks. The fist pumps. The just crazy intensity. ... ‘Passion,’ I think, is a really good word. Just continuing through ups and downs,” she responded Friday night. “I could go on and on. But I just honestly am so grateful that I had this moment — and that I’m Serena.”
That captures so much about her so well.
And to think: Williams, who turns 41 this month, did not even mention anything about being an elite athlete or any of the statistics that help define what she did with a racket in her hand.
The 23 championships at the Grand Slam tournaments that have come to define success in her sport. Another 50 singles titles elsewhere. The 14 majors in doubles with her sister, Venus. The 319 weeks at No. 1. The four Olympic gold medals.
So, sure, it’s impossible to assess Williams without considering her place in the pantheon of superstars, as worthy as anyone — woman or man, this generation or any other, this sport or any other — of the honorific “Greatest of All Time” (one clever spectator at Williams’ 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 loss to Ajla Tomljanovic held up a poster with, simply, a drawing of a goat).
“She is an all-time great. Obviously, that’s an understatement,” said Martina Navratilova, an 18-time major winner who certainly is part of that whole conversation.
But Williams is also about a lot more than that.
No Black woman had won a Slam title since Althea Gibson in the 1950s until Williams came along and collected her first at the 1999 U.S. Open at age 17. Over the more than two decades since, Williams and Venus, who earned seven major singles trophies of her own, get credit for inspiring Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka and countless of others to play tennis, yes, but also for pushing plenty of others to change their views about what can be done and what can’t.
Read: Serena Williams loses to Tomljanovic in US Open farewell
“She embodies that no dream is too big,” Tomljanovic said. “You can do anything if you believe in yourself, you love what you do and you have an incredible support system around you.”
There’s more.
She won a Grand Slam title while pregnant, went through scary health complications after giving birth to her daughter, Olympia, in 2017, and would return to the tour and reach four more major finals.
She has a venture capital firm that raised more than $100 million.
“Everyone looks at her and tries to be like Serena,” said Caroline Garcia, a Frenchwoman seeded 17th and into the fourth round at the U.S. Open. “And I’m sure that’s going to be for years to come.”
Williams wore what she wanted on a tennis court. She reacted how she wanted, during and away from her matches. She said what she wanted, sometimes addressing social issues, sometimes not, but there always was a sense that she was the one who decided.
There were those who criticized her, of course. Those who wondered whether she was doing things the right way. Just as there were those who thought it was a mistake for her father, Richard, to keep his young daughters away from the junior tennis circuit.
Um, seems as if that worked out, huh?
“I will definitely (be) missing her on the courts,” Tomljanovic said, surely echoing the thoughts of many. “It will not be the same.”
No, tennis most definitely will not be the same without Williams. Not even close.
That’s OK, though. It’s time, as Williams famously wrote, for her to be “evolving” away from her days as a player. It’s time for her to devote extra energy to being a mom and a businesswomen and whatever else life brings her way.
As Williams observed after hitting one last shot: “I have such a bright future ahead of me.”
Serena Williams loses to Tomljanovic in US Open farewell
Leave it to Serena Williams to not want to go quietly, to not want this match, this trip to the U.S. Open, this transcendent career of hers, to really, truly end.
Right down to what were, barring a change of heart, the final minutes of her quarter-century of excellence on the tennis court, and an unbending unwillingness to be told what wasn’t possible, Williams tried to mount one last classic comeback, earn one last vintage victory, with fans on their feet in a full Arthur Ashe Stadium, cellphone cameras at the ready.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion staved off five match points to prolong the three-hours-plus proceedings, but could not do more, and was eliminated from the U.S. Open in the third round by Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 on Friday night in what is expected to be her final contest.
“I’ve been down before. ... I don’t really give up,” Williams said. “In my career, I’ve never given up. In matches, I don’t give up. Definitely wasn’t giving up tonight.”
She turns 41 this month and recently told the world that she is ready to start “evolving” away from her playing days — she expressed distaste for the word “retirement” — and while she remained purposely vague about whether this appearance at Flushing Meadows definitely would represent her last hurrah, everyone assumed it will be.
“It’s been the most incredible ride and journey I’ve ever been on in my life,” Williams said, tears streaming down her cheeks shortly after one final shot landed in the net. “I’m so grateful to every single person that’s ever said, ‘Go, Serena!’ in their life.”
Asked during an on-court interview whether she might reconsider walking away, Williams replied: “I don’t think so, but you never know.”
A little later, pressed on the same topic at her post-match news conference, Williams joked, “I always did love Australia,” the country that hosts the next Grand Slam tournament in January.
With two victories in singles this week, including over the No. 2 player in the world, Anett Kontaveit, on Wednesday, Williams took her fans on a thrill-a-minute throwback trip at the hard-court tournament that was the site of a half-dozen of her championships.
The first came in 1999 in New York, when Williams was a teen. Now she’s married and a mother; her daughter, Olympia, turned 5 on Thursday.
“Clearly, I’m still capable. ... (But) I’m ready to be a mom, explore a different version of Serena,” she said. “Technically, in the world, I’m still super young, so I want to have a little bit of a life while I’m still walking.”
With 23,859 of her closest friends cheering raucously again Friday, Williams faltered against Tomljanovic, a 29-year-old Australian who is ranked 46th.
Williams gave away leads in each set, including the last, in which she was up 1-0 before dropping the final six games.
Tomljanovic is unabashedly a fan of Williams, having growing up watching her play on TV.
“I’m feeling really sorry, just because I love Serena just as much as you guys do. And what she’s done for me, for the sport of tennis, is incredible,” said Tomljanovic, who has never been past the quarterfinals at any major. “This is a surreal moment for me.”
Then, drawing laughs, Tomljanovic added: “I just thought she would beat me. ... She’s Serena. That’s that’s just who she is: She’s the greatest of all time. Period.”
Asked what she planned to do on the first day of the rest of her life Saturday, Williams said she’d rest, spend time with Olympia and then added: “I’m definitely probably going to be karaoke-ing.”
Her performance with her racket Friday showed grit and featured some terrific serving, but it was not perfect.
Read: Serena Williams not done yet; wins 1st match at US Open
On one point in the second set, Williams’ feet got tangled and she fell to the court, dropping her racket. She finished with 51 unforced errors, 21 more than Tomljanovic.
Williams let a 5-3 lead vanish in the first set. She did something similar in the second, giving away edges of 4-0 and 5-2, and requiring five set points to finally put that one in her pocket. From 4-all in the tiebreaker, meaning Williams was three points from defeat, she pounded a 117 mph ace, hit a forehand winner to cap a 20-stroke exchange, then watched Tomljanovic push a forehand long.
Momentum appeared to be on Williams’ side. But she could not pull off the sort of never-admit-defeat triumph she did so often over the years.
“Oh, my God, thank you so much. You guys were amazing today. I tried,” Williams told the audience, hands on her hips, before mentioning, among others, her parents and her older sister, Venus, a seven-time major champion who is 42.
“I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus. So thank you, Venus,” Williams said. “She’s the only reason that Serena Williams ever existed.”
They started in tennis as kids in Compton, California, coached by their father, Richard, who taught himself about the sport after watching on television while a player received a winner’s check. He was the central figure in the Oscar-winning film “King Richard,” produced by his daughters.
The siblings lost together in the first round of doubles on Thursday night, drawing another sellout. And on Friday, as during the younger Williams’ other outings this week, there could be no doubt about which player the paying public favored.
When Tomljanovic broke to go up 6-5 as part of a four-game run to take the opening set, one person in her guest box rose to applaud — and he was pretty much on his own.
Otherwise, folks applauded when Tomljanovic double-faulted, generally considered a faux pas for tennis crowds.
They got loud in the middle of lengthy exchanges, also frowned upon.
They offered sympathetic sounds of “Awwwwww” when Williams flubbed a shot, and leapt out of their seats when she did something they found extraordinary. A rather routine service break was cause for a standing ovation.
Tomljanovic draped a blue-and-white U.S. Open towel over her head at changeovers, shielding herself from the noise and distractions.
“Just really blocked it out as much as I could. It did get to me a few times, internally. I mean, I didn’t take it personally because, I mean, I would be cheering for Serena, too, if I wasn’t playing her,” Tomljanovic said. “But it was definitely not easy.”
After Williams struck a swinging backhand volley winner to take a 4-0 lead in the second set, her play improving with every passing moment, the reaction was earsplitting. Billie Jean King, a Hall of Famer with 39 total Grand Slam titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles, raised her cellphone to capture the scene.
“You’re everywhere!” yelled Williams’ husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, from a courtside guest box that also contained power couple Ciara and Russell Wilson.
When Williams drove two consecutive forehand winners to lead 5-2 in the second set, she screamed and leaned forward after each.
She could not sustain that level.
Williams entered the night having won 19 times in a row in the U.S. Open’s third round of singles competition, including reaching at least the semifinals in her most recent 11 appearances in New York.
Talk about a full-circle moment: The only other third-round loss she’s ever had at Flushing Meadows (she is 42-0 in the first and second rounds) came in 1998, the year Williams made her tournament debut at age 16.
She would win her first major trophy 12 months later at the U.S. Open. And now she said goodbye in that same stadium.
“It’s been a long time. I’ve been playing tennis my whole life,” Williams said Friday night, after performing one last twirl-and-wave move usually reserved for victories. “It is a little soon, but I’m also happy because, I mean, this is what I wanted, what I want.”
Serena beats No. 2 seed Kontaveit at US Open to reach 3rd Rd
Serena Williams can call it “evolving” or “retiring” or whatever she wants. And she can be coy about whether or not this U.S. Open will actually mark the end of her playing days. Those 23 Grand Slam titles earned that right.
If she keeps playing like this, who knows how long this farewell will last?
No matter what happens once her trip to Flushing Meadows is over, here is what is important to know after Wednesday night: The 40-year-old Williams is still around, she’s still capable of terrific tennis, she's still winning — and, like the adoring spectators whose roars filled Arthur Ashe Stadium again — she's ready for more.
Williams eliminated No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 in the U.S. Open’s second round to ensure that she will play at least one more singles match at what she’s hinted will be the last tournament of her illustrious career.
“There’s still a little left in me,” Williams said with a smile during her on-court interview, then acknowledged during her post-match news conference: ”These moments are clearly fleeting."
After beating 80th-ranked Danka Kovinic in straight sets Monday, then collecting her 23rd victory in her past 25 matches against someone ranked Nos. 1 or 2 against Kontaveit on Wednesday, the six-time champion at Flushing Meadows will play Friday for a spot in the fourth round.
Her opponent will be Ajla Tomljanovic, a 29-year-old Australian who is ranked 46th. They've never met, but Tomljanovic, who said she considers herself a Williams fan, figures she knows what to anticipate from the American — and from those in the seats.
“I was playing on Court 7 both of my matches so far at the same time as her, and I could hear the crowd. I’m like, ‘Court 7 isn’t that close.’ I kept thinking, ‘Oh, my God, that’s annoying me and I’m not even playing against her.’ I don’t know how I’m going to do it,” Tomljanovic said. “What I’m going to focus on is to keep the scoreline close, because I think she gets dangerous if she gets up. She’s the best when she gets ahead.”
On Wednesday, Williams hit serves at up to 119 mph, stayed with Kontaveit during lengthy exchanges of big swings from the baselines and conjured up some of her trademark brilliance when it was needed most.
After pulling out a tight first set, then faltering in the second, Williams headed to the locker room for a bathroom break before the third.
Something had to give, someone had to blink.
When they resumed, it was Williams who lifted her level and emerged as the better player.
Just as she’s done so many times, on so many stages, with so much at stake.
“I'm just Serena. After I lost the second set, I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness, I better give my best effort because this could be it,’” Williams said, surely echoing the thoughts of everyone paying any attention.
“I never get to play like this — since ’98, really," she said. "Literally, I’ve had an ‘X’ on my back since ’99,” the year she claimed her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open at age 17.
Whatever rust accumulated when Williams missed about a year of action before returning to the tour in late June appears to have vanished. She was 1-3 in 2022 entering the U.S. Open.
“Now it’s kind of coming together,” Williams said. “I mean, it had to come together today.”
Williams has doubles to play, too. She and her sister, Venus, have won 14 major championships as a team and will begin that event Thursday night.
Kontaveit, a 26-year-old from Estonia, is a powerful hitter in her own right, the sort that spread across women’s tennis over the past two decades after a pair of siblings from Compton, California, changed the game.
But there's a caveat attached to Kontaveit's ranking: She has never won so much as one quarterfinal match at any Grand Slam tournament in 30 career appearances.
Read:Serena Williams not done yet; wins 1st match at US Open
So maybe that's why, much like with Kovinic 48 hours earlier, Williams’ opponent was introduced just by her name, and Kontaveit walked out to a smattering of applause. Williams, in contrast, got the full treatment: highlight video, a listing of her many accolades and a loud greeting from folks part of the largest U.S. Open attendance ever at a night session, 29,959, eclipsing the record set Monday.
“It was her moment,” Kontaveit said. “Of course, this is totally about her."
As strident a competitor as tennis, or any sport, has seen, as rightly self-confident in her abilities as any athlete, Williams was not about to think of this whole exercise as merely a celebration of her career.
She came to New York wanting to win, of course.
Wearing the same glittery crystal-encrusted top and diamond-accented sneakers — replete with solid gold shoelace tags and the word “Queen” on the right one, “Mama” on the left — that she sported Monday, Williams was ready for prime time.
The match began with Kontaveit grabbing the first five points, Williams the next five. And on they went, back and forth. Kontaveit’s mistakes were cheered — even faults, drawing an admonishment for the crowd from chair umpire Alison Hughes about making noise between serves.
Early in the third set, Kontaveit hit a cross-court forehand that caught the outermost edge of a sideline. A video on the stadium screens showed just how close it was, confirming that the ball did, indeed, land in. That brought out boos from the stands. Williams raised her arm and wagged a finger, telling her backers not to cause a fuss.
If anything, Kontaveit received more acknowledgment from the player trying to defeat her than anyone else, as Williams would respond to great shots with a nod or a racket clap.
“They were not rooting against me. They just wanted Serena to win so bad,” Kontaveit said, calling the treatment she received “fair," even if it was “something I never experienced before.”
Williams broke for a 5-4 edge when Kontaveit pushed a backhand long, spurring yelling spectators to rise to their feet — and Williams’ husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, jumped right in, too, waving his arms in her direction, a few rows in front of where Venus and Tiger Woods were two seats apart.
But with a chance to serve out that set, Williams briefly lost her way. A double-fault made it 5-all.
Eventually they went to a tiebreaker, and at 3-3, a chant of “Let’s go, Serena!” broke out, accompanied by rhythmic clapping. Soon, Williams delivered a 101 mph service winner and a 91 mph ace to seal that set.
To Kontaveit’s credit, she did not fold, did not let the disappointment linger. Instead, she raced to a 3-0 edge in the second with 10 winners and zero unforced errors.
In the third, it was Williams who gained the upper hand, and it seemed every point she won elicited an enthusiastic response. After a swinging forehand volley winner put Williams a game from victory, she raised both arms, then clenched her left fist.
One game, and five minutes later, it was over — and her stay at the U.S. Open could proceed.
Asked whether she's a title contender, Williams answered: “I can not think that far. I'm having fun and I'm enjoying it.”
Dubai Open Chess: GM Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh in 3rd slot
Dhaka, Aug 31 (UNB) - Grand Master Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh went down to the 3rd slot from 2nd position in the 22nd Dubai Open Chess Tournament with three points after the 4th round matches held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday,GM Ziaur Rahman sharing the 3rd position with 29 other players after making a draw with Indian GM Harsha Bharathakoti in the 4th round match.. IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman, FM Tahsin Tazwar Zia, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag and FM Md Taibur Rahman of Bangladesh scored 2 points each from four matches. In Tuesday's other 4th round matches, FM Tahsin drew with GM Kuybokarov Temur of Australia, IM Fahad beat Laddha Yash Jayesh of Malaysia, FIDE Master Parag beat Abid Ali Mujawar of India and FIDE Master Taibur beat Sadbhav Rautela of India.
Read: Dubai Open Chess: GM Zia, IM Fahad, FM Tahsin make good startsThe 5th round matches began on Wednesday at 7 pm Bangladesh time. In the 5th round matches, GM Zia playing against GM Suleymanli Aydin of Azerbaijan, IM Fahad playing with S. Prasannaa on India, FIDE Master Tahsin playing against Kuziev Miraziz of Uzbekistan, FIDE Master Parag playing with IM Haldorsen Benjamin of Norway while FIDE Master Taibur playing against IM Dushyant Sharma of India.
Dubai Chess: GM Ziaur Rahman shares 2nd place after 3rd round
Grand Master Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh shared the 2nd slot in the 22nd Dubai Open Chess Tournament alongwith 18 other players securing 2.5 points each after the 3rd round match held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Monday.
FM Tahsin Tazwar Zia, son of GM Ziaur Rahman, earned 1.5 points, IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag and FM Md Taibur Rahman of Bangladesh bagged one point each after the 3rd round matches.
In the 3rd round matches on Monday. GM Zia drew with GM Raunak Sadhwani of India, FIDE Master Tahsin Zia drew with Mustafayev Nihad of Uzbekistan, IM Fahad lost to Sumir Arsh of India, FIDE Master Parag lost to Indian International Master Mohammad Nubairshah Sheikh while FIDE Master Taibur lost to IM Yidmakiling Oliver of the Philippines.
Read: Dubai Chess: Bangladeshi GM Ziaur Rahman shares top slot
The 4th round matches began on Tuesday at 7 pm Bangladesh time.
In the 4th round matches, GM Zia playing against GM Harsha Bharathakoti of India, IM Fahad playing against Laddha Yash Jayesh of Malaysia, FIDE Master Tahsin playing against GM Kuybokarov Temur of Australia, FIDE Master Parag playing against Abid Ali Mujawar of India while FIDE Master Taibur playing against Sadbhav Rautela of India.
1st Div Football: Badda Jagarani Sangsad beat Friends Social Welfare 2-0
Badda Jagarani Sangsad beat Friends Social Welfare Organization by 2-0 goals in the Bashundhara Group Metropolis First Division Football League at the Kamalapur Stadium here on Tuesday.
After a barren first half, Rumel Mia put Badda Jagarani ahead in the 52nd minute (1-0) while Shamim Ahmed scored the 2nd goal in the added time (90+4 minute) of the match (2-0).
In the day's another league match, Victoria Sporting Club defeated Jatrabari Krira Chakra by 1-0 goal at the same venue.
Shohag Hossain scored the match-winning goal for Victoria SC in the added time (45+3 minute) of the first half.
Also read: 1st Div Football: East End earn 2-0 win over Dilkusha SC
In the day's other match at the same venue, PWD Sporting Club beat Sadharan Bima Corporation SC by a solitary goal scored by Asif Mahmud in the 64th minute.
Dubai Chess: Bangladeshi GM Ziaur Rahman shares top slot
Bangladeshi Grand Master Ziaur Rahman shared the top slot in the 22nd Dubai Open Chess Tournament along with 28 other players securing full two points each after the 2nd round matches held in Dubai, UAE on Sunday.Four other Bangladeshi players--IM Mohammad Fahad Rahman, FM Tahsin Tazwar Zia, FM Mehdi Hasan Parag and FM Md Taibur Rahman --bagged one point each from two matches. In the second round matches, GM Zia defeated Md Imran of India, FM Parag defeated Faisal Ali of United Arab Emirates and FM Taibur beat Abdulrahim Salem of United Arab Emirates.
Also read: Dubai Open Chess: GM Zia, IM Fahad, FM Tahsin make good startsIM Fahad lost to German GM Nishipeanu Liviu-Dieter and FM Tahsin lost to IM NR Vignes of India. The third round matches began Monday evening. In the day's third round matches, GM Zia playing against GM Raunak Sadhwani of India, IM Fahad playing with Sumir Arsh of India, FM Tahsin playing Mustafayev Nihad of Uzbekistan, FM Parag playing against Indian IM Mohammad Nubairshah Sheikh while FM Taibur playing with IM Yidmakiling Oliver of the Philippines.
Also read: 22nd Dubai Open Chess Tournament gets underway
So further shuffling of the leaderboard is entirely inevitable before the night ends.