AFP, New York :
World number one Novak Djokovic battled through neck pain on the way to a 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 victory over Ricardas Berankis at the Western & Southern Open, where second seed Dominic Thiem crashed out.
Djokovic, who pulled out of doubles with a sore neck on Sunday, made it through to the round of 16 despite the ailment, for which he received treatment on court.
“It’s getting better,” he said after the 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 win. “It’s been four days. It’s not yet where I’d like it to be but it’s heading in the right direction.”
In women’s action, third-seeded Serena Williams bucked the upset trend that saw top seed Karolina Pliskova and number two Sofia Kenin ousted on Sunday.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion battled back from the brink against Dutch qualifier Arantxa Rus, dominating a third-set to win 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 7-6 (7/0).
Williams dropped four straight games in the second set against the hard-hitting left-hander, who has never won a WTA title.
After rallying from 0-40 down in the opening game of the third she looked to have turned the tide with a service break on the way to a 3-0 lead.
Serving for the match at 5-3 in the third, Williams was broken to love, Rus winning the next two to give herself a chance to serve it out.
She was broken, and Williams crushed her in the tiebreaker to wrap up a bruising victory in two hours and 49 minutes.
“That was tough. It was a real physical match out there,” said Williams, who tried to pump herself up on the spectator-free Grandstand court with fist-pumping cries of “c’mon” and squeals of triumph and frustration.
It was Williams’ fourth three-set match since she returned at a tournament in Lexington, Kentucky, in the wake of the WTA’s coronavirus shutdown.
“I’m actually super fit and I’m super ready,” she said.
Fifth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus fought her way into the third round, downing American Cici Bellis 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 7-5.
Eighth-seeded Briton Johanna Konta moved on, but two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, the sixth seed fell 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 to fellow Czech Marie Bouzkova.
