Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic advance at US Open

Serena Williams fought back from a set down in her US Open second-round match to overwhelm teenage wildcard Catherine McNally and keep alive her hopes of securing a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title.

Eighth-seeded Williams – who captured the first of her six titles at Flushing Meadows two years before her 17-year-old opponent was born – spent the first half of the match trying to find her rhythm but when she did she was off to the races in the 5-7 6-3 6-1 win.

In the preceding match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Novak Djokovic overcame both injury and a 3-0 second-set deficit to see off Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Londero.

The Serb’s 6-4 7-6(3) 6-1 triumph sets up a third-round meeting with either countryman and 27th seed Dusan Lajovic or local hope Denis Kudla.

Williams, meanwhile, faces an intriguing third-round match-up against either 29th seed Hsieh Su-Wei or Wimbledon quarterfinalist Karolina Muchova.

“She really came out and played really well, she showed no fear,” a relieved Williams said of McNally in her on-court interview. “She had absolutely nothing to lose and she played like it.”

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McNally, competing in only her sixth tour-level event of her career and against the highest-ranked player she has faced, used an old-school serve-and-volley approach along with a lethal slice backhand to unsettle Williams.

So effective was McNally that at one point in the match Williams screamed at her own racquet “why are you missing?”.

But Williams, whose earliest US Open exit came in her 1997 debut when she lost in the third round, turned the match around when she finally broke serve and then consolidated in a tight service game for a 5-2 lead in the second set.

Williams looked more like herself in the decider as she stormed home.

“I survived tonight,” Williams, who made 28 unforced errors, said. “I am not too pleased with the way I played at all but it’s OK, I’m alive. I’m still here and happy to be on this court. I’ll do better. I promise.”

Williams is drawn to meet Australian world No.2 Ashleigh Barty, a straight-sets winner over Lauren Davis, if they progress to the quarterfinals.

Djokovic progresses, but under a cloud

Reigning champion Djokovic required a medical timeout for a shoulder problem before securing the win over Londero.

Djokovic, who had work done on his left shoulder during his pre-match warm-up inside Arthur Ashe Stadium earlier in the day, was in clear distress when he took a timeout while leading 4-3 in the first set.

The top seed returned to court to close out the first set and then got more treatment before the Argentine, in only his second main draw match at Flushing Meadows, broke him twice for an early 3-0 lead in the second.

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But a determined Djokovic found his way back by winning the next five games and then, after easing through the tiebreak, had more treatment before racing home in the third.

“I will probably freeze my arm for 48 hours and do nothing, and then see what happens,” said Djokovic.

“I was definitely tested and this (the injury) is something I have been carrying for quite a while now. It wasn’t easy, obviously, playing with the pain but you have to find a way to fight and hope you get some lucky shots.”