Serena Williams Pulls Off US Open Stunner; LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Sports World React
(Photo : Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Sports icons congratulate Tennis legend Serena Williams for her amazing performance in her final US Open.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams extended her farewell tour by beating No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday night.

The energetic crowd once more supported the 40-year-old Williams in the final match of her remarkable career, which was played in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium.

She delivered serves at speeds of high to 119 mph, stuck with Kontaveit through long exchanges of powerful baseline swings, and summoned some of her signature brilliance when it was most required, NBC News reported.

Williams walked to the locker room for a brief break before the third set after winning a close first set but stumbling a bit in the second.

Serena Williams showed perseverance the whole match, not only winning the first set in a tiebreak but also overcoming a discouraging second set to completely dominate her opponent in the third.

The six-time Flushing Meadows winner will compete on Friday for a place in the fourth round. Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, age 29, will be her opponent.

Legends Acknowledge Fellow Legend

Serena Williams did not avert her gaze from the cameras as the whole sports world tuned in to see what may have been her final singles match on Wednesday night, per The Sporting News.

Tiger Woods, a close friend of Williams's, attended and was happy to see her succeed: "It was a privilege to watch greatness. Congrats @serenawilliams"

LeBron James, superstar forward for the Los Angeles Lakers and regarded as one of basketball's all-time greats, had nothing but praise for Serena Williams following her shocking victory over Kontaveit at the US Open. The basketball icon took to his Instagram story to show love to Serena Williams by making "goat noises", a hilarious tribute to a fellow greatest-of-all-time candidate, ClutchPoints reported. 

LeBron James posted the video with the caption, "@SerenaWilliams TALK!! KEEP GOING!!!"

Serena Williams, who is very close to retiring, seeks to boost her record of 23 grand slam wins, which already ranks first in women's tennis singles history. LeBron, meanwhile, needs just 1,326 more points to eclipse fellow Laker legend, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, for second place on the NBA's all-time scoring record.

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Golden State Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry also expressed his admiration for the tennis legend on social media with the tweet: "Not done yet @serenawilliams"

In light of Williams' continued participation in the US Open, the following are some of the more noteworthy responses from the sports world:

 

Life After Tennis

Serena Williams declared in early August that she will retire from the sport after this year's U.S. Open competition.

The iconic athlete stated in a Vogue story that she wanted to concentrate on expanding her family.

Williams wrote: "I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn't feel like a modern word to me. I've been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I'm up to is evolution. I'm here to tell you that I'm evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me."

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