Serena Williams escapes a trap game against Sloane Stephens and moves on to the next round

New York- Serena Williams gets her groove back in the second set to finish off Sloane Stephens in the third to set to advance to the next round, 2-6, 6-2, and 6-2.

Williams struggled in the first two breaks, as her first serves were around 38%. Usually, Williams' first serves are around 60%, but it seemed like Williams was very tense and trying to figure out Stephens in the first couple of breaks. Stephens did a great job making Williams chase down her shot instead of letting Williams stand still and deliver her forehand shot. Even though Williams had four aces, unforced errors plagued her. Stephens dominated the first set 6-2.

In the second set, Williams had to dig deep and got the break point that she needed to give her some breathing room against Stephens. Williams won 10 of 13 breaking points in the set and that swung the momentum in her favor. Williams won the second set 6-2. In the third set, Williams gained her confidence back, as she was hitting her first serve at 75% and making Stephens stay in the middle of the court. Williams went up 4-1 in the set and went on to win 6-2.