Serena reaches 3rd round

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PARIS. – Former world number one Serena Williams, chasing a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title, overcame a second-set blip to reach the French Open third round with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 win against Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu on Wednesday.

Three-time Roland Garros champion Williams, who has been stuck on 23 major titles since 2017, one behind Margaret Court’s all-time record, went through the gears in the opening set before letting her guard down.

The 39-year-old, who is seeded seventh in Paris but has not been past the fourth round here since reaching the final in 2016, fell 4-2 behind in the second set as Buzarnescu broke for the first time.

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But the American was back to her dominant self as she stole her opponent’s serve in the next game and set up two break points in the 11th game.

Buzarnescu kept her composure to stave them off and level for 5-5 before sealing the second set on Williams’s serve.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori survived his second five-set match at this year’s French Open, outlasting Russian 23rd seed Karen Khachanov in a thrilling four-hour battle to win 4-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 and reach the third round.

The 31-year-old, three times a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros, scripted a comeback win against Italian Alessandro Giannessi on Sunday and repeated the feat against Khachanov, improving to 26-7 in matches that go to five sets. — Reuters

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