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Tennis: Serena claws out opening victory over hard-hitting Rus

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/afp/08/12/serena.jpg"/><figcaption>Serena Williams prepares to serve during her match against Bernarda Pera during Top Seed Open - Day 2 at the Top Seed Tennis Club on August 11, 2020 in Lexington, Kentucky. Dylan Buell, Getty Images/AFP</figcaption></figure></div>NEW YORK -- Serena Williams battled back from the brink against Dutch qualifier Arantxa Rus on Monday, dominating a third-set tiebreaker to reach the third round of the Western &amp; Southern Open.Williams, seeded third, is the highest seed remaining in the women&#x27;s draw of the tournament, moved this year from Cincinnati to New York to put players in a coronavirus quarantine &quot;bubble&quot; at the venue that will host the US Open starting on August 31.Top seed Karolina Pliskova and No. 2 Sofia Kenin both bowed out in second-round openers -- and it looked like 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams could follow them before she roared back to beat Rus 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 7-6 (7/0).Williams dropped four straight games in the second set against the hard-hitting left-hander, who has never won a WTA title.After rallying from 0-40 down in the opening game of the third she looked to have turned the tide with a service break on the way to a 3-0 lead.Serving for the match at 5-3 in the third, Williams was broken to love, Rus winning the next two to give herself a chance to serve it out.She was broken, and Williams crushed her in the tiebreaker to wrap up a bruising victory in two hours and 49 minutes.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/football/news/2020/08/25/uefa-president-happy-man-city-overturning-ban-70468">READ: UEFA president &#x27;not happy&#x27; with Man City overturning ban</a></li></ul>&quot;That was tough. It was a real physical match out there,&quot; said Williams, who tried to pump herself up on the spectator-free Grandstand court with fist-pumping cries of &quot;c&#x27;mon&quot; and squeals of triumph and frustration.&quot;I had a crowd in my head or something,&quot; Williams said. &quot;It was actually funny to me. I don&#x27;t know. For me, it was like there was a crowd there.&quot;It was Williams&#x27; fourth three-set match since she returned at a tournament in Lexington, Kentucky, in the wake of the WTA&#x27;s coronavirus shutdown.But she said fitness work during the downtime had her ready.&quot;I&#x27;m actually super fit and I&#x27;m super ready,&quot; she said.Fourteen aces, including one at 121 mph, helped her cause as she booked a third-round meeting with 13th-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece, who beat Kazakhstan&#x27;s Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 7-6 (7/9).Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, the sixth seed, joined the exodus of women&#x27;s seeds, beaten 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 by fellow Czech Marie Bouzkova.Eighth-seeded Briton Johanna Konta moved on with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.With world number one and top seed Novak Djokovic due to launch his campaign Monday, third-seeded defending champion Daniil Medvedev launched his defense with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Marcos Giron.<div>© Agence France-Presse</div>(For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>).

Serena Williams battled back from the brink against Dutch qualifier Arantxa Rus on Monday, dominating a third-set tiebreaker to reach the third round of the Western & Southern Open.

Serena Williams battled back from the brink against Dutch qualifier Arantxa Rus on Monday, dominating a third-set tiebreaker to reach the third round of the Western & Southern Open.