Serena Williams have reached the third round of the Western and Southern Open in New York.
The 38-year-old qualified for the third round of the competition after a hard-fought victory over Arantxa Rus.
Williams took almost three hours to stop her Dutch opponent, recording 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 7-6 (7-0) wins.
She will now face Greece’s 13th seed Maria Sakkari in the third round of the Western and Southern Open.
“It was a real physical match,” the two-time champions said in the aftermath, as quoted by the BBC.
“I played pretty well, I was being aggressive and hit some good shots, but she just kept fighting.”
Meanwhile, fourth seed Naomi Osaka of Japan also booked her place in the next round after beating Karolina Muchova 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-2.
