Serena Williams reaches last 8 Mertens stuns Kenin

NEW YORK, Sep 8: Third seed Serena Williams advanced to the US Open quarter-finals after a gritty, tension-filled 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 win over Greece's Maria Sakkari on Monday.

Early nerves saw Williams start with a double fault, but the veteran then found her footing, playing strong defensive tennis to save all three break points against her in the first set.

Williams got the first break against Sakkari for a 4-2 lead before closing the set out with an ace.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner came up short in the second-set tiebreak however, with Williams' power serve abandoning her when she needed it most.

Sakkari, seeded 15, carried the momentum into the third set as she started the decider with a break.

But 38-year-old Williams again showed the battling instincts that have made her one of the all-time greats. She broke back to level for 2-2 as Sakkari's forehand started to misfire.

The six-time US Open champion, who fired off the tournament's fastest serve with a 124 mph ace during the third set, marked her 100th win on Arthur Ashe Stadium with a roar that could be heard all around the grounds.

"I just kept fighting," said Williams, who lost to Sakkari two weeks ago in the Western & Southern Open. "She was doing so well she was being so aggressive. I knew I needed to do the same thing."

Belgian Elise Mertens continued her strong run in 2020 by taking down American second seed Sofia Kenin 6-3 6-3 to reach the US Open quarter-finals for the second straight year.

Mertens, seeded 16th, played solid from the baseline and kept the errors to a minimum to defeat Australian Open champion Kenin for the first time in three career meetings.

Monday's victory was the 23rd of the year for Mertens — the most on the women's circuit in 2020 — and she has yet to drop a set in her Flushing Meadows campaign.

Victoria Azarenka reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final in more than four years after rallying from a set down to beat Czech Karolina Muchova 5-7, 6-1, 6-4.

The 31-year-old twice Australian Open champion was broken three times in the opening set but 20th seed Muchova looked increasingly hampered by a problem with her upper left thigh on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Azarenka, on a high after winning her first title for four years at the Western & Southern Open, took full advantage of Muchova's discomfort to whip through the second set and even up the contest.

Tsvetana Pironkova continued her dream run when the Bulgarian beat France's Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 to move into the last eight stage in New York for the first time in her career. Agencies