Serena Williams plays Sloane Stephens for the first time in five years in a U.S. Open third-round duel on Saturday.
Williams, chasing a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title, dispatched 117th-ranked Russian Margarita Gasparyan 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday.
Earlier, the 2017 U.S. Open champ Stephens swept 130th-ranked Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-2, 6-2. It marked the first time since last September that Stephens won back-to-back matches.
“I played well, built on my first match,” said Stephens, who entered the Open with a 2020 record of 1-7. “Really looking forward to [playing in the third round], another shot just to have an opportunity to play, obviously, without having played that much this year.