Latest on US Open: Serena Williams' Grand Slam bid moves on
By Associated Press
Sep 2, 2015 4:08 PM CDT
Mardy Fish reacts after losing a point to Feliciano Lopez, of Spain, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)   (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — The latest on the U.S. Open (all times local):

5:05 p.m.

Serena Williams' bid for a true Grand Slam is safe, despite an uneven performance in the U.S. Open's second round.

Overcoming 10 double-faults and two dozen other unforced errors, Williams emerged with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over 110th-ranked qualifier Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday.

Williams got broken to fall behind 2-1 early, and Bertens served for the opening set at 5-4 before getting broken for the first time.

Then in the tiebreaker, Williams trailed 4-0, before turning things around, helped by shaky play from Bertens, who only once has made it to the third round at a major tournament in 14 appearances.

Williams has won the past four major titles, a streak that began at last year's U.S. Open, and is trying to complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.

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4:45 p.m.

Serena Williams got off to a rough start in her second-round U.S. Open match, before pulling out the opening set in a tiebreaker against Kiki Bertens, a qualifier from the Netherlands ranked 110th.

Williams, bidding for tennis' first true Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988, got broken by Bertens to trail 2-1, then was down 5-4. But with Bertens serving for the opening set, Williams earned her first break point of the match and converted it.

Then in the tiebreaker, Williams fell behind 4-0, only to turn things around to grab that first set 7-6 (5).

Williams began the second set better, just breaking to go ahead 2-1.

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4 p.m.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands has finally reached the third round at her home Grand Slam tournament in her 13th try.

The 101st-ranked American routed countrywoman CoCo Vandeweghe 6-2, 6-1 on Wednesday at the U.S. Open. It was an especially impressive performance considering the 45th-ranked Vandeweghe was coming off a breakthrough run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals and upset 29th-seeded Sloane Stephens in the first round.

The 30-year-old Mattek-Sands, who got in with a wild card, had been 0-5 in U.S. Open second-round matches.

"You know what? Thirty is the new 21," she said in an on-court interview.

Best known for her colorful fashion statements and doubles accomplishments, Mattek-Sands will get more time to focus on her singles run here. She and Lucie Safarova were seeded second after winning the Australian and French Opens this year, but Safarova had to pull out because of a strained abdominal muscle. Mattek-Sands' next opponent could be Serena Williams.

It was a disheartening end to the summer for Vandeweghe. After she fell behind 5-0 in the first set, she smashed her racket on her chair, then cracked it on the court three more times. Finally, Vandeweghe raised her arms to the crowd and slammed it once more.

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3:15 p.m.

Defending champion Marin Cilic is taking a quick and quiet trip through this year's U.S. Open draw so far.

The ninth-seeded Cilic, whose only appearance in a Grand Slam final came at Flushing Meadows in 2014, reached the third round by beating Evgeny Donskoy of Russia 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 on Wednesday.

Cilic has won all six sets he's played this week.

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2:40 p.m.:

Mardy Fish and Feliciano Lopez are both 33 and have now played each other nine times.

Lopez paid tribute to his American counterpart after beating him in the last match of Fish's career Wednesday at the U.S. Open.

Fish had a chance to serve out the match in the fourth set, then was hobbled by severe leg cramps in the fifth as Lopez finally eked out the victory.

"I was lucky that I won the fourth set," the 18th-seeded Lopez said in an on-court interview. "And then in the fifth set, he was not feeling well. He was cramping and he was so tired. I think he really deserved the win today."

Fish returned to the tour this summer after struggling with anxiety disorder and announced the U.S. Open would be the final tournament of his career.

"It's been many years together. ... We played many times. He beat me a couple times," Lopez said. "I have to say, he was the better player, normally, when we played. And he was a great player, had a good career. It was very sad what was happening the last two, three years with this illness, and it's great to have him back at least for a few weeks."

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2:30 p.m.:

Mardy Fish's career ended with his legs cramping badly in a fifth set at the U.S. Open.

The 33-year-old American had a chance to serve out an upset of 18th-seeded Feliciano Lopez in the fourth set of their second-round match Wednesday, but nerves took over. He had three straight unforced errors then double-faulted to be broken at love, and Lopez quickly won the next two games as well to force the deciding set.

Fish, whose career was derailed by anxiety disorder, hung in there in the fifth on a hot, humid day, but his legs were clearly cramping more and more and he was able to move less and less. Finally when he was serving at 3-4, his leg seized up in the middle of a point. Lopez, who was dealing with nerves of his own in the final set, broke then closed out the 2-6, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory after 3 hours, 11 minutes.

Fish, a former top-10 player, decided to end his career here to try to make some new memories at Flushing Meadows. In 2012, what should have been one of his best moments turned into the worst, when he withdrew because of a panic attack before his fourth-round match against Roger Federer.

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12:40 p.m.:

Daria Kasatkina is a lucky winner.

The 133rd-ranked Russian teen lost in U.S. Open qualifying Friday, but when third-seeded Maria Sharapova withdrew Sunday because of an injury, Kasatkina was suddenly in her first Grand Slam main draw as a "lucky loser."

She proceeded to upset 38th-ranked Daria Gavrilova in the first round the next day, then won again Wednesday to become the first lucky loser to reach the women's third round since 1993.

Kasatkina defeated 79th-ranked Ana Konjuh 6-4, 6-4. In a quarter of the draw full of upsets, she will face yet another unseeded player in the next round, 40th-ranked Kristina Mladenovic or 98th-ranked Bojana Jovanovski.

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12:15 p.m.:

Young American Madison Keys has reached the third round at the U.S. Open for the first time.

The 19th-seeded Keys needed just 54 minutes to beat 100th-ranked Tereza Smitkova of Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday in a matchup of 20-year-olds.

Keys has now advanced to at least the third round at every major this year, which started with her breakthrough run to the semifinals at the Australian Open.

Keys, who didn't face a break point Wednesday, could meet Serena Williams in the fourth round. Before that, she could play 15th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat her in three sets in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Radwanska takes on a fellow Polish player, 91st-ranked Magda Linette, later Wednesday.

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