Upbeat Serena Cruises Into 3rd-Round Showdown

NEW YORK –– Given everything that happened with her sister in the previous 24 hours, Serena Williams had every reason in the world to be distracted Thursday afternoon.

Instead, an upbeat Serena took just 49 minutes to crush Michaella Krajicek, 6-0, 6-1 in Arthur Ashe Stadium to move into a much anticipated third-round match with No. 4 Victoria Azarenka. Serena has now won 14 straight matches and 29 of 30 on hard courts.

As expected, much of Serena’s post-match press conference was focused on the health of her older sister, Venus, who on Wednesday abruptly withdrew from the U.S. Open, citing an autoimmune disease known as Sjögren’s Syndrome.

Federer Cruises, Passes Agassi on All-Time List

NEW YORK –While Roger Federer and the Williams sisters have all won multiple Grand Slam singles tournaments, Federer’s career stands in stark contrast to the sisters in terms of consistency.

Federer is competing in his 48th straight Grand Slam event, while Venus and Serena have been on and off the women’s tour for reasons related to health, personal tragedy and outside interests.

One day after Venus withdrew from the U.S. Open because of an autoimmune disease known as Sjögren’s Syndrome, No. 3 Federer cruised into the third round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 rout of Dudi Sela of Israel in just 1 hour, 17 minutes.

His 225th career Grand Slam tournament singles win moved him past Andre Agassi into second place on the all-time list. Jimmy Connors ranks first with 233 career major wins.

Jersey Girl McHale Scores Big Upset

Christina McHale punctuated the biggest victory of