WHAT HAPPENED: It's been a tough season for Anett Kontaveit, but you wouldn't know it based on how the Estonian performed as day turned to night on Monday at the US Open.
The No. 2 seed opened up her tournament with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Jaqueline Adina Cristian, a match where she won the last nine games.
Kontaveit was one of the stories of the last quarter of 2021, a stretch where she won four of the eight tournaments she played and also finished runner-up at the season-ending WTA Finals. She became the first Estonian to ever crack the Top 10, and this year, first touched No. 2 in June.
This year, though, she's stalled somewhat since raising her sixth career title in St. Petersburg in February. The next week, she finished runner-up to Iga Swiatek in Doha, but since, she's won back-to-back matches at only three events she's entered.
Against Cristian, she showed the kind of tennis she's capable of. Kontaveit hit 20 winners in victory, and won the last nine games.
"I felt like once I found my groove, I was playing really well," Kontaveit said in victory. "I actually felt like I was rallying really well, felt the ball great. I just fought hard and I was very happy with the way I managed to finish that match."
Cristian, a Romanian ranked No. 77, has had her own struggles this year. She suffered a knee injury in Doha, where she left the court in a wheelchair, and had been sidelined since then.
WHAT IT MEANS: Anchoring the bottom half of the draw, Kontaveit is the next foe for either Serena Williams or Danka Kovinic, depending on how proceedings in the night's first match in Arthur Ashe Stadium shake out.
Though she's never played Williams, Kontaveit will come into a likely meeting with the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion with a coach who knows what its like to guide a player to a memorable victory over the all-time great.
Since late June, she's been working with German Torben Beltz, who had a long stint with Angelique Kerber—including her famous 2016 season where she won two Grand Slam titles and reached world No. 1. That year, Kerber beat Williams to win the Australian Open.
"I'm really excited. I was really rooting for her to win today. I've never played against her. I mean, this is the last chance. Better late than never," she said with a smile.
"I'm really excited. I think the atmosphere is going to be amazing. I'm really looking forward to it. I think it's going to be one of those matches this year that I haven't had too many where I just have no pressure on me. I'll just get to enjoy and play as good as I can on the day.
"I don't feel like there is any pressure on me on the results or anything. I'm just going to take it as a real unique experience. I'm not sure if I'll ever experience something like this again. I think it's a special moment for her."
MATCH POINT: As a 19-year-old in 2015, Kontaveit reached Round 4 of the US Open. She matched that feat in 2020, and hasn't lost before the third round in New York in each of the last three years.
