New York: Serena Williams withstood a “rough and rowdy” challenge from 17-year-old American wildcard Caty McNally at the US Open on Wednesday to keep her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title intact.
Williams, a six-time champion in New York, recovered from dropping the opening set to prevail 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 and set up a third-round showdown with either 29th seed Hsieh Su-Wei or Karolina Muchova. “I had to stop making errors. I made so many errors in the first two sets. You can’t win tournaments making that many errors. I knew I had to play better, and I knew I could,” Williams said. “I want to be able to win matches where I’m not playing my best, play players who are playing great, be able to come through. I need to be tested, I guess.” McNally, who hadn’t been born when Williams won her first Slam at the 1999 US Open, threatened a struggling Williams from the start before the 37-year-old won nine of the last 11 games to escape under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I survived tonight. I’m not too pleased with the way I played at all,” Williams said. “I’d rather not be tested in every match. But that doesn’t happen, so it’s important for me to have those, like, really rough. That helps a lot.” Eighth seed Williams is seeking to match Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam crowns and needed to gather her thoughts after a first set littered with 15 unforced errors. (AFP)
