Serena Williams credited Tiger Woods on Wednesday as one of the main reasons she was still playing tennis and had the golfing great on his feet during her stunning win over world No 2 Anett Kontaveit to reach the third round of the US Open.

Woods, like Williams considered to be the GOAT (greatest of all time) in his sport, cheered her on from the stands at Flushing Meadows in what is expected to be her final tournament.

Perhaps more than any other athlete, the winner of 15 golf majors can relate to what Williams is going through as she wrestles with the idea of impending retirement while trying for one more shot at Grand Slam glory.

Woods has turned comebacks into an art form in a career spent defying the odds. In April, he made perhaps his biggest comeback when he returned to competition at the Masters just 14 months after a car crash that had doctors considering the possibility of amputating his right leg.

Golfing great Tiger Woods was on hand to watch Serena Williams advance to the third round of the US Open. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Jason Szenes)

“He’s one of the reasons I’m here, one of the main reasons I’m still playing,” said Williams after her 7-6(4) 2-6 6-2 win over Kontaveit. 

“So we talked a lot. He was really trying to get me motivated. There’s a few people, but we were like, okay, we can do this together, you know?”

The two sporting greats are both chasing history, Woods hunting Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors and Williams, one Grand Slam shy of equalling Margaret Court’s mark of 24.

Both records seem out of reach although Williams with her win over Kontaveit moves into the third round with a chance of writing a fairytale ending to her career.

Woods has already shown anything is possible when he ended an 11-year major title drought at the 2019 Masters to claim a fifth Green Jacket.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” said Williams, who signalled her intention to retire this month.

“I was just lost, so many questions,” she said.

“When you can rely on someone like that, I mean, my goodness, he’s Tiger Woods, it was really helpful to get clarity.”

Having been world No 1 for 319 weeks, Williams arrived in New York ranked below 600, unseeded and with just a single match win from three events coming into the season’s final Grand Slam.

But Williams delivered a very Tiger-esque effort, tapping into her famous fighting spirit to register an impressive win.

“It was a privilege to watch greatness,” tweeted Woods.

Kontaveit rattled

Kontaveit said she expected the sold-out crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium to throw their full support behind Williams on Wednesday, but the environment was “hard” and unlike anything she had faced before.

“You can expect something, I saw it from the previous match,” Kontaveit told reporters after the loss.

Serena Williams puts off retirement with first-round win at US Open

“But when you’re on the court, I mean, it was hard… it was something I never experienced before.”

The Estonian said she held no grudge against the New York crowd.

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

Before each of her two star-studded matches, fans have been treated to a montage of Williams’s career highlights while her opponent has been forced to stand on the court and wait for play to start.

Still focused. Serena Williams might be a part-time tennis player these days, but as she showed against Kontaveit, when she’s on song, she remains a force in the game. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Sarah Yenesel)

Serena Williams rolled back the years to beat No 2 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Brian Hirschfeld)

The 26-year-old, who grew up watching Williams repeatedly triumph on the sport’s biggest stages, said she understood the pageantry. “It was her moment,” she said.

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

But while she was surprised by the intensity of the crowd of nearly 30,000, there was nothing unfamiliar about seeing Williams raise her level in the deciding set.

“I always remember seeing how fiercely she competed for every point,” Kontaveit said. “I grew up watching her play. I mean, she was dominating women’s tennis for so long.”

US golfer Tiger Woods and his girlfriend, Erica Herman, talk to Serena Williams’s husband, Alexis Ohanian. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Jason Szenes)

Williams will next face Australian Ajla Tomljanović on Friday and Kontaveit said there is no reason to think Williams could not defy the odds and win her elusive record-tying 24th Grand Slam title.

“There is also a lot of very strong girls there in the draw,” she said. “But I think if she plays really good tennis, I think she always has a chance to win.”

Murray advances

Another veteran trying to defy the odds is Andy Murray. The Scot advanced to the third round on Wednesday.

The former world No 1 survived an early scare to beat American wildcard Emilio Nava 5-7 6-3 6-1 6-0 to move into the third round of a Grand Slam for only the second time in five years.

Murray’s victory also marked the first time since 2016 that he had reached the third round at Flushing Meadows, where he won his maiden Grand Slam a decade ago.

The Scot has been trying to revive his career since hip surgeries threatened to bring it to a premature end, and the 35-year-old has shown glimpses of getting back to his best in the first two rounds, dropping only one set so far.

“Physically this is the best I’ve felt in years… I’m getting closer to where I want to be. Hopefully I can have a deep run here,” Murray said in an on-court interview.

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“I think physically I was stronger than him at the end of the match, which is a really positive thing, obviously. My game improved as the match went on. My movement around the court is good right now. I feel like it’s not that easy for guys to hit winners past me and I’m defending in the corners much better than I was 12 months ago here.”

Murray will next meet 13th seed Matteo Berrettini, who beat him in the final of the Stuttgart Open in June. The Italian also dropped the opening set before fighting back to beat Hugo Grenier 2-6 6-1 7-6(4) 7-6(7). Reuters/DM