‘It was difficult to cope’ – Tearful Anett Kontaveit on facing Serena Williams’ crowd at US Open

The second seed, who has suffered a string of disappointing results in recent weeks, was unable to conquer the 23-time Grand Slam champion under the New York lights on Wednesday night.

An electric atmosphere on Arthur Ashe Stadium helped Williams recover from a mid-match blip to come through 7-6(4) 2-6 6-2 and book a meeting with Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round.

Kontaveit conceded that the partisan support was “tricky” to handle but said she still felt the crowd was “fair”.

“It was hard. It was something I never experienced before,” she said at her post-match press conference.

“I don’t think it’s a personal attack against me or anything. I mean, it’s fair.”

She continued: “I thought I didn’t play a bad match at all. She definitely raised her level in the third set. She played amazing.

“In the first set she was serving so well in these important moments. I fought really hard, thought I played a decent match. She was better today.

“It was her moment. I was trying to do my own thing. Of course, this is totally about her. I was very aware of that.”

The decision by organisers to introduce Kontaveit before Williams, and then leave her waiting while a Serena montage played out on court, has sparked consternation among some.

And the emotion of the occasion caught up with the 26-year-old when fielding a question from an Estonian reporter, who praised her for representing their country on such a big stage.

“It’s not a shame to lose to Serena,” she said in tears.

“It was so difficult to cope with the crowd and everything. I think this was the hardest in this game.”

‘Serena one of the favourites’ – Wilander

“I have not heard a crowd that loud,” said seven-time major champion Wilander.

“The movement is much better than I ever could’ve expected and the serve is coming back. She is a threat now.

“I am surprised that she can keep it up but we’ve seen Serena do this at Grand Slam tournaments when she hasn’t had a lot of matches. She wins a match, then two, then the tables flip completely and now she is one of the favourites.”

While she has refused to use the R-word and dropped hints about playing beyond the US Open, it is widely expected that this tournament will be Williams’ last.

– – –