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The second round of the U.S. Open gets underway on Wednesday, August 31. There will be a full slate of women’s singles matches accentuated by the second appearance of veteran Serena Williams. She picked up a first round win over Danka Kovinic in straight sets, and will take on No. 2 Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Kontaveit won her first set 6-3 and then followed it up with a 6-0 shutout in the second set. Williams had won her match in straight 6-3 sets. While it was great to see Williams back on the court, she did have some rust. She will need to be at the top of her game to hang with Kontaveit in this one. This will be the first meeting of this duo.
Williams was an underdog in her first round match, which continues for the second round at DraftKings Sportsbook. She is the +185 underdog while Kontaveit is the narrow -225 favorite. Despite being the underdog in this match, Williams has better odds of winning the U.S. Open installed at +2200. Even with an “easier” slate of matches to get to the Finals, Kontaveit has +3500 to win the tournament.
Williams last played the US Open in 2020 and reached the semi-final round. The US Open was the first Grand Slam she ever won as she won her first in 1999. She headed into this tournament with six US Open titles and four other finals appearances.
Kontaveit has only made it to one quarterfinal in her Grand Slam history: the 2020 Australian Open. She has made the fourth round of the US Open twice (2015 and 2020), but that is the furthest she has made it. She is the overall No. 2 seed, so expectations are high for her this year.