NEW YORK — Displeased with her performance in victory, Serena Williams hit the practice courts.
Hard.
Williams worked on her serve for a good 35 minutes with her coach Patrick Mouratoglou following her 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over qualifier Kiki Bertens in the second round of the US Open.
The win left Williams five matches shy of becoming the first woman to win the Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988, something Williams is doing everything in her power to accomplish.
But perfectionist that she is, Williams wasn’t at all happy about the performance, which she described as “tight.”
“Yeah, it definitely wasn’t my happiest of moments,” Williams said after the victory in which she double-faulted 10 times, got only 59 percent of her first serves in and was broken twice by the Dutch qualifier.
“You know, I don’t think you should be happy with just winning. At least I’m not. Maybe other people can. Always looking to do better. You know, if I don’t play well, I’m not going to be happy even if I won.”
Asked about her practice session with Mouratoglou after the match, a somber Serena said, “Well, Patrick told me some things that he saw that he thought I could work on to improve it and to get better.”
Does she feel more confident after banging serves on the practice courts?
“We’ll see,” she said. “I’ll see tomorrow how I am in practice, how I am with serving. I’ll see how I do tomorrow.”
Next up for Serena will be fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands who destroyed another American, Coco Vandeweghe, 6-2, 6-1 in 68 minutes after Vandeweghe had upset the No. 29 seed Sloane Stephens in the first round.
Mattek-Sands, 30, is a veteran who entered the draw via a wildcard and is known for sometimes wearing leggings and her bold, colorful attire. She is 0-2 in her career against Serena, winner of 21 Grand Slam singles titles.
“You know what? She’s playing great,” Mattek-Sands said of Serena. “I mean, right now she’s on a mission to get a record, and I’m here playing my game. I think it’s going to be a battle out there. I’m going to do my best.
“Right now I’m giving myself the best chance I can to play well. That’s all I can ask for.”
That match figures to come Friday and Mattek-Sands is fired up for the all-American affair.
“I love New York,” she said. “I love coming here….The crowds here, whether it’s a night match, day match, it’s really one of my favorite events. Obviously being an American makes it special playing here. I’m really happy to keep going.
For her part, Serena spoke very highly of Mattek-Sands.
“Yeah, I love her personality,” Serena said. “It really shows in her dresses and the clothes and the outfits. I love her spirit. She’s had a lot of ups and downs throughout her whole career.
“She’s just incredibly positive, you know. It’s so inspiring for someone like me. So I love that about her. And she has a really aggressive game. You know, I just don’t think there’s anyone on tour that says, I don’t like Bethanie Mattek. I don’t think that exists.”
If Serena gets past Mattek-Sands, she would face the winner between 20-year-old American Madison Keys, the No. 19 seed who lost to Serena in the Australian Open semifinals, and No. 15 Aga Radwanska.
Keys, a big-server who hits with power from both wings, advanced via a 6-1, 6-2 win over Tereza Smitkova. She is 0-4 against Radwanska.
“It’s so special to be able to get as far as I’ve ever been at this Open,” Keys said. “I’m excited to keep it going and try to get to the next round.”
