New York: Serena Williams has fought off the challenge of giant-killer Kaia Kanepi to claim a rollercoaster win and move into the US Open quarter-finals, a step closer to a record-equalling 24th career grand slam title.
After a shock upset of world No.1 Simona Halep in the first round, the 44th-ranked Kanepi had looked a potential trouble spot for Williams and pushed her to a third set before the American prevailed 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.
Serena Williams after her tough match against Kaia Kanepi at the US Open.
"It wasn't an easy match at all. She obviously knows how to play, she's had a lot of big wins," Williams said.
"We always have tough matches. I was just happy to get through it to be honest."
Asked about the improvements she has made since losing in the final of Wimbledon to Angelique Kerber, Williams said: "The thing I've improved most is my fitness. Coming back from a baby is hard, harder than I thought."
Next up for Williams is a last-eight showdown with Ashleigh Barty's conqueror, Czech eighth seed Karolina Pliskova.
Any early tension inside a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium was eased as a ruthless Williams stormed through Kanepi and the opening set in 18 minutes for the loss of a measly six points.
But in a bizarre twist in momentum, fans suddenly found themselves back on the edge of their seats as the Estonian opened the second with a break and broke Williams again to go up 5-2 before holding off a late rally from the 17th seed to level the match.
Having collected her first set off of Williams in five career meetings, however, there would not be a second.
Just as quickly as the momentum had swung to Kanepi in the second set it returned to Williams in the third as normal service resumed with the 36-year-old breaking her opponent at the first opportunity and jumping out to a 3-0 lead before she closed out the match.
Meanwile, World No.1 Rafael Nadal has set up an intriguing quarter-final showdown with Dominic Thiem after snuffing out a comeback attempt by Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4 win at the US Open.
The top seed looked like he would cruise to an easy win after pocketing the first two sets but the Georgian stepped up his game to take the third set.
Relief for Rafael Nadal after defeating Nikoloz Basilashvili.
The US Open champion would not be denied and fired his seventh ace on match point to end the three hour, 20-minute tussle.
"Two matches in the row that were very tough ones," said Nadal, who had to battle back against Russian Karen Khachanov two days ago.
Nadal praised the 26-year-old Basilashvili, who will break into the top 30 for the first time when the new rankings are released after the tournament.
"He played fantastic. A lot of credit to him. He was playing great, hitting the ball very, very strong," he said.
"I'm very happy to be through," added Nadal after setting up a rematch of June's French Open final, when he crushed Thiem in straight sets to win his 17th major.
The Austrian booked his own place by eliminating last year's US open runner-up Kevin Anderson in a 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) victory.
Thiem neutralised 203-centimetre Anderson's blistering serve by standing far beyond the baseline and he chased down everything the South African could throw at him.
He played a near flawless match, dropping just four points on his first serve and firing 42 winners.
"One of my best matches ever," Thiem said of his dazzling performance in an on-court interview, calling his quarter-final berth "a dream coming true".
Dominic Thiem will face Nadal in the quarter-finals.
Thiem told reporters that his positioning on the court inside the newly-built Louis Armstrong Stadium was critical.
"The court, I think, made a big difference. It's a huge court. I could go very far back like I do on clay usually. So there were some good advantages for me today," Thiem said.
"I also played really safe from the baseline, which is also a big part of the performance today. But against him, still, the most important is to put as many balls back into play as possible."
The South African had won all six previous hardcourt meetings against Thiem but he struggled to get his legs moving against his younger opponent.
He was hoping to earn a rematch with Nadal, who beat him last year in the final at Flushing Meadows.
"It's disappointing. I wanted to be here right till the end and put myself in contention of winning my first major. It wasn't meant to be," Anderson told reporters.
"It was definitely Dom's day today. He played a great match."
Reuters
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