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Serena Williams reaches Western & Southern Open third round

Serena Williams overcame a scare against Dutch qualifier Arantxa Rus to reach the Western & Southern Open third round in New York.

American Williams, 38, stopped Rus serving out the match at 6-5 before winning 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 7-6 (7-0) in almost three hours.

Rus, ranked 72nd in the world, became edgy as a memorable win loomed and it was costly.

"It was a real physical match," said 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams.

"I played pretty well, I was being aggressive and hit some good shots, but she just kept fighting."

The two-time champion will play Greece's 13th seed Maria Sakkari in the third round.