Kaia Kanepi To Face Serena Williams in US Open
Estonia's top tennis player Kaia Kanepi will have a chance to give Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves bragging rights when he meets his US counterpart in a few days in Tallinn, as Kanepi is set to face US tennis star Serena Williams in the fourth round of the US Open tonight.
Kanepi will face Serena Williams, ranked number 1 in the world to Kanepi's 50th, today around 18:00 Estonian time on center court in New York.
The two met twice in 2008 and once in 2009, with Williams winning all three matches.
Silver Karjus, a former coach of Kanepi, said it is her best chance to defeat the American, as Williams, 32, has made many mistakes this year and the pressure is on her to deliver at the year's last grand slam, having failed to win anything in 2014.
"I believe that for the first time in her life, Kaia's mental sides will not let her down and psychologically she is stronger than Serena,“ he told Delfi.
Kanepi won the last 10 games of her match against Carla Suarez Navarro on Saturday, beating the Spaniard 7-5, 6-0.
Kanepi had a wobbly start, committing back-to-back double faults and falling behind 3-1, but then steadied to bring the match back to 5-5.
Playing with power and confidence, Kanepi gave Suarez Navarro no chance in the second set, allowing her opponent only 10 points.