Serena Williams was able to survive a tough three-set match with 15th seed Maria Sakkari and advance to the Quarterfinals of the US Open on Monday. It will be her 53rd Slam quarterfinal.
The Greek challenged Williams throughout the match and had a legitimate chance to win after breaking serve to go up 2-0 early in the third set. But as she has done so many times before, Williams stormed back, taking six of the final seven games to win the set 6-3. The match was very competitive, going two hours and 28 minutes before Williams was victorious.
For Williams, it was her 100th win at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The player closest to that number is Roger Federer, with 77. Arthur Ashe stadium was built in 1997.
Williams atoned for a loss to Sakkari two weeks earlier in the Western & Southern Financial Open. The win against Sakkari means that Williams can keep hope alive for a chance at adding to her 23 Grand Slam titles and six US Open championships throughout her pro tennis career. Williams remains one Grand Slam win behind Margaret Court (24) for the all-time record.
Williams first won the US Open in 1999 when she was just 17 years old, defeating number-one-ranked Martina Hingis in the Finals. That win made Williams the first African American woman to win a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era, and marked the start of Williams’s dominant career.
It has been more than three years since she won her 23rd Grand Slam title. That win took place at the 2017 Australian Open, where Williams defeated her sister Venus Williams in two sets. Williams has come close on a few occasions since, losing four major finals.
Williams will play unranked player Tsvetana Pironkova, one of the surprises of the tournament, in the next round.
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