USA’s Serena Williams serves to Johanna Larsson of Sweden in their US Open third round match at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Sunday. Serena won 6-2, 6-1. (Photo: AFP )
USA’s Serena Williams serves to Johanna Larsson of Sweden in their US Open third round match at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Sunday. Serena won 6-2, 6-1. (Photo: AFP )
Serena Williams sped past another milestone on Saturday en route to the US Open fourth round as men’s contenders Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka clawed their way into the last 16.
World number one Williams dominated Sweden’s Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-1 to surpass Martina Navratilova for most Grand Slam wins by a woman with 307.
Not only has she surpassed Navratilova, she matched Roger Federer’s mark for men.
“To be up there with both men and women is something that’s super-rare, and it actually feels good,” said Williams, who said she was “really excited” to reach 307.
“Obviously I want to keep that number going higher,” added Williams, who will get her chance when she takes on Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova for a quarter-final berth.
While Williams encountered little resistance, it was another story for the top men’s seeds in action.
Wawrinka, a two-time Grand Slam winner and twice a semi-finalist in New York, had the closest call, saving a match point in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/8), 6-2 victory over Britain’s Dan Evans.
The 31-year-old third seed saved the match point at 5/6 in the fourth set tiebreaker, breaking the will of his 64th-ranked opponent.
Many of Murray’s troubles against Paolo Lorenzi were of his own making as he allowed the energetic Italian journeyman to make him look ordinary through two sets before pulling himself together to win 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
“I had to stop rushing,” said Murray, who arrived at the year’s final Grand Slam off victories at Wimbledon and the Rio Olympics and may have expected less from Lorenzi, the 34-year-old who only won a first ATP title in July.
Murray takes on Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, a 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 winner over Portugal’s Joao Sousa, for a quarter-final berth.
Sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan, two years removed from his run to the final, rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win over France’s Nicolas Mahut.
Nishikori, who has dropped a set in each of his matches so far, will take on Ivo Karlovic for a quarter-final berth after the towering Croatian defeated 19-year-old American Jared Donaldson 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Women’s fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska advanced with ease, dispatching France’s Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Croatian Ana Konjuh, a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 winner over American Varvara Lepchenko.
Sania, Bopanna advance, Paes out Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna progressed with their respective partners but Leander Paes’ campaign came to an end after the veteran suffered a second-round defeat along with Martina Hingis in the mixed doubles.
Sania and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic advanced to the third round of the women’s doubles with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) win over Viktorija Golubic and Nicole Melichar.
The seventh seeds will now meet unseeded Nicole Gibbs and Nao Hibino.
Bopanna and his Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski defeated Lukasz Kubot and Andrea Hlavackova 5-7, 6-3, 10-7 to move into the quarter-finals.
However, defending champions Paes and Hingis lost to American seventh seeds Coco Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram 7-6 (1), 3-6, 13-11.
