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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Serena Williams pushed to limit in U.S. Open victory

Serena Williams reacts after winning a point against Bethanie Mattek-Sands during third round. (Associated Press)
Associated Press

NEW YORK – Can’t count out Serena Williams, no matter how big the deficit, no matter how off-target her strokes, no matter how much the pressure might be mounting as she bids for a calendar-year Grand Slam.

Eight times this season at major tournaments, Williams has dropped the opening set. Eight times, she has won.

The latest comeback was in the third round of the U.S. Open on Friday night, when Williams figured out a way to deal with a tricky opponent and get her own game going before it was too late, eventually emerging to grab the last eight games for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory over Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

“I’m not trying to live on the edge,” Williams said with a big smile.

Perhaps. Still, no one does it better. And with so much at stake, no less.

The No. 1-ranked Williams is trying to become the first tennis player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same season.

Nadal out in five sets

Rafael Nadal had never lost a Grand Slam match when taking a two-set lead until he was beaten 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 by 32nd-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy in the third round.

The eighth-seeded Nadal’s defeat also ends the Spaniard’s 10-year streak of winning at least one major title per season. He lost in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the French Open, then the second round at Wimbledon.

Nadal, who has won two of his 14 career major titles at Flushing Meadows, not only claimed the first two sets against Fognini, but also led by a break in the third at 3-1.

Djokovic rolls along

Top-seeded Novak Djokovic is through to the fourth round with another straight-set victory.

The nine-time major champion beat 25th-seeded Andreas Seppi 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 on Friday. Djokovic had his serve broken for the first time this tournament – Seppi did it twice – but otherwise had little trouble improving to 11-0 against the 31-year-old Italian.