AFP, NEW YORK: World number one Serena Williams shook off a woeful start Wednesday to advance her quest for tennis history while Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal joined her in the third round of the US Open. Williams, trying to complete the first calendar Grand Slam singles sweep since Steffi Graf in 1988, defeated 110th-ranked Dutch qualifier Kiki Bertens 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 at Arthur Ashe Stadium despite 34 unforced errors and 10 double faults.
Spanish eighth seed Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion, ousted Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 7-5, for his 750th career tour-level match triumph while top-ranked Djokovic stayed on a last-eight collision course with Nadal by dispatching Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
The reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, whose only US Open title came in 2011, won 14 of the final 17 games.