US Open 2022: Serena Williams vs Anett Kontaveit preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (2) Anett Kontaveit vs Serena Williams
Date: August 31, 2022
Tournament: US Open 2022
Round: Second round (Round of 64)
Venue: New York, United States
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $60,102,000
Live telecast: USA - ESPN & ESPN2 | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sony Liv, Sony Ten & Sony Six
Serena Williams vs Anett Kontaveit preview
The second round of the 2022 US Open will have former champion Serena Williams locking horns with second seed Anett Kontaviet in a blockbuster contest.
Williams, a six-time former winner, eked out a gritty win over Danka Kovinic in the opening round. Playing in her final professional tournament, the American overcame understandable nerves to edge her opponent in two keenly-contested sets.
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With the win, Williams improved her (singles) win-loss for the season to 2-3. The American has played only a handful of tournaments this year and Monday's win adds to her earlier triumph over Nuria Parrizas Diaz in Toronto.
Kontaveit, meanwhile, overcame a spirited Jaqueline Christian in her opening match. The Romanian, returning from an injury lay-off, started strong, only to lose steam after dropping the opening set — eventually losing 6-3, 6-0.
The win would have come as a huge confidence boost for Kontaviet, who, after climbing to new heights this year, has struggled for wins of late.
Serena Williams vs Anett Kontaveit head-to-head
This will be the first career meeting between Serena Williams and Anett Kontaviet, so their current head-to-head stands at 0-0.
Serena Williams vs Anett Kontaveit odds
(Odds will be updated soon)
Serena Williams vs Anett Kontaveit prediction
Her long absence from competitive tennis will mean that Serena Williams will come into the contest against World No. 2 Anett Konfaviet as the underdog.
Williams will, however, fancy her chances against the Estonian given her recent struggles for match wins. The American made a shaky start to her match against Kovinic, but eventually settled into a groove of sorts. Her serve especially improved as the match went on and she ended the contest with nine aces and a 76% win percentage on the first serve.
The 23-time Major winner did play the big points well, saving 80% of the breakpoints faced — often conjuring a big serve to do so. The same shall hold her in good stead against Kontaveit, who is also known to be a big fighter on the court.
Kontaveit enjoys taking the ball early and being aggressive, so the onus on keeping her from settling into a rhythm will lie solely on Williams' shoulders.
The American did show flashes of her best tennis in the crunch moments, which augers well for her heading into an even tougher match-up. The win over Kovinic would have also helped settle the nerves for the 40-year-old. If she can start to play with more freedom, Williams could well overpower Kontaveit from the baseline.
Prediction: Williams to win in three sets
Also Checkout:- US Open 2022 Results