Serena Williams faces Galina Voskoboeva on Thursday in Round 2 of the 2013 US Open. The match is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. Watch the live stream HERE or ESPN's HERE.
After a rain delay on Wednesday, Williams continues on Thursday the bid for her fifth US Open singles title. The World No. 1 has been dominant all season. She skated through the first round on Monday with a crushing win over Francesca Schiavone, 6-0, 6-1. Despite Williams' lead, she refused to allow herself to grow complacent on the court.
"I just thought I have to stay focused and do what I can. I just wanted to stay really focused there," Williams said of when Schiavone at one point hugged a ball boy, via the New York Times.
"She's a great competitor," Williams added. "The scoring line had nothing to do with the match. I was able to win some key points, but I'll tell you it wasn't very easy out there."
After a shocking fourth-round loss at Wimbledon, Williams rebounded quickly to snag her seventh and eighth WTA title of the season at Bastad and Toronto; she made it the Cincinnati Masters final before losing to Victoria Azarenka.
With four US Open titles already to her name, the Slam is different for Williams this year -she doesn't feel the pressure of having to prove anything.
"That's the beauty of my career. I don't need to do anything at all," the 31-year-old American said earlier in the week, via Yahoo! Sports. "Everything I do from this day forward is bonus. Everything for me is just extra."
Williams' next challenge is World No. 77 Voskoboeva, who is 22-15 on the season and without any WTA singles titles. The 28-year-old Russian reached the second round at Roland Garros before losing. Her career-best at a Slam was in 2012 at the Australian Open, where she reached the third round.
The only meeting between the pair, in 2012 at Rome, ended with Williams winning in two sets.
*Stats via WTATennis.com and MatchStat.com.
