Serena blasts 13 aces indoors!
After 17 trips to Flushing Meadows and six US Open titles Serena Williams did something on Thursday she had never done before -- win a match indoors.
With the new high-tech retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium slammed shut because of persistent rain, Williams swept past American compatriot Vania King 6-3, 6-3 in a tidy 65 minutes to ease into the third round.
"It was a little different playing with Ashe closed but it still feels great," said Williams.
Indoors or outdoors, night or day, rain or shine, it has made little difference to Williams at the US Open, the 34-year-old having now racked up 86 victories at Flushing Meadows.
Williams's victory against an over-matched King may have been one of her easiest, the world number one in complete control from the outset, looking like a champion who never had to shift out of first gear.
Williams arrived at the year's final grand slam with concerns swirling around a sore shoulder that hampered her at the Rio Olympics and forced her to pull out of a tournament in Cincinnati.
But she put any doubts about her fitness to rest, blasting 13 aces past King while hitting 38 winners to just four by her opponent.
Radwanska cuts down Broady to reach third round
Fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska survived an early deficit and the big serve of Briton Naomi Broady to advance to the third round.
Radwanska, who won the Connecticut Open last week for her 19th career WTA title, saved four set points and claimed a marathon opening set tiebreak 11-9 to post a 7-6(9) 6-3 rain-delayed victory in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The Pole fell behind the 82nd-ranked Broady 5-2 in the first set before rallying back.
"I'm just so pleased I could come back in that first set," Radwanska said in an oncourt interview. "A lot of trouble, a lot of running, a lot of struggling. But two sets for me."
The towering, 6-foot-2 Broady (188 cms) hit a high of 121 miles per hour (195 kph) with her serve and pressed the action, moving to the net 57 times and coming away with 35 points.
"She was serving unbelievable," said Radwanska. "120-serves is not easy to get. Every break was huge."
As she chases her first grand slam title, Radwanska said last week's victory was history.
"Every week is a new start, so you forget about the last week," she said. "It's not going to get any easier if you won the title before."
Wawrinka rolls into third round
Twice Grand Slam winner Stanislas Wawrinka rallied from 5-2 down in the second set to clinch victory over Italian Alessandro Giannessi and reach the third round of the US Open.
After dominating the opening set, the third-seeded Swiss battled back to force a tiebreak and then broke the Italian in the final game of the match to finish a 6-1, 7-6(4) ,7-5 victory.
"I was trying to be a little more aggressive," said Wawrinka, who blasted 57 winners, including 26 off his forehand, in the Louis Armstrong Stadium contest.
"I'm very happy the way I won the match."
Wawrinka will next face 64th-ranked Daniel Evans of Britain, a 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 winner against Germany's 27th seed Alexander Zverev.
Venus rises to occasion with straight sets win
Sixth-seeded Venus Williams stayed on track for a possible semi-finals clash with sister Serena by sprinting past German Julia Goerges to reach the third round.
Williams, 36, relied on her big serve when pressed in posting a 6-2, 6-3 victory under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium, turning away four of five break points held by the 64th-ranked Goerges.
Williams, the US Open winner of 2000 and 2001, was runner-up to top seed Martina Hingis as an unseeded player in the inaugural year of Ashe Stadium and 19 years later finished the first US Open day session played entirely under a roof.
"1997 was a long time ago," Williams said on court after her victory. "I'm so grateful to be here still playing, still winning matches and I can't wait for the next round."
The elder Williams sister will next play either 26th seed Laura Siegemund of Germany or unseeded American Nicole Gibbs.
