|
Williams has blitzed through the draw without
dropping a set but faces a tricky third-round test against the
26th-seeded Stephens, whose run to the 2017 U.S. Open title
propelled her to a career-high ranking of No. 3.
Stephens, 27, has struggled to kick on, however, and has not
reached a tournament final since the WTA Finals in 2018.
Stephens, who has slipped to No. 39 in the world, entered the
second Grand Slam of the year with a miserable 1-7 record but
Williams still expects a stern challenge.
"Well, she's a great competitor. It's an incredibly interesting
match, because she's actually a U.S. Open champion," said
Serena, who defeated Kristie Ahn and Margarita Gasparyan en
route to the third round.
"You can't win a Grand Slam and not be really, really, really,
really, really good. I have a lot of things that I need to focus
on and do to get ready."
Williams, 38, has defeated her compatriot in four straight
matches since a defeat in the quarter-finals of the 2013
Australian Open.
In other matches, former world number one Victoria Azarenka
plays Iga Swiatek, second seed Sophia Kenin meets Ons Jabeur and
seventh seed Madison Keys clashes with Alize Cornet.
In the men's draw, third seed Daniil Medvedev's bid for a maiden
Grand Slam continues when he faces local hope J.J. Wolf, while
2014 champion Marin Cilic takes on second seed Dominic Thiem in
the highlight of the third-round matches.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Andy Murray and has not
dropped serve in the tournament so far, faces unseeded Frenchman
Corentin Moutet.
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
