Serena Williams will do her final round at the US Open in 2022.

Her unexpected second-round win over world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit this week is just the latest chapter in her love affair – with a few hints of anger – with the tournament.

Here are some of the tennis great’s standout moments at Flushing Meadows:

First win at the US Open

In 1999, at just 17 and his second appearance at the US Open, Williams made history. The young athlete, already distinguished by her strength and drive, surprises several legends of her sport, including a young Kim Clijsters, Monica Seles and the defending champion Lindsay Davenport.

In the final, even the number one in the world, the Swiss Martina Hingis, was no match. The seventh seed wins the match 6-3, 7-6(4) and celebrates in style with her family.

The Venus Episode

At the turn of the 2000s, Serena’s older sister Venus stood out, winning the 2000 and 2001 editions, mostly beating her younger sister in this second triumph.

It was the first time that the two young women met in the Grand Slam final, but by no means the last. Under these circumstances, they will meet a total of nine times, including in the United States in 2002, where Serena retaliated with a 6-4 and 6-3 victory. Venus will explain after the meeting that her little sister was just too strong.

The controversies

That 2002 title was followed by injuries, then a first controversy two years later when Serena said she was “robbed” in the quarterfinals match against Jennifer Capriati. With no less than 57 unforced errors, she was very critical of the referee’s work, while a new technology for the lines seemed to have some problems.

In 2009, Williams exploded in anger in the semifinals and threatened a linesman who kicked him for a foot fault, earning Kim Clijsters two match points. Found guilty by officials, she had to pay a fine of around $100,000 and later denied she was intense.

The tennis woman also had a falling out with referee Eva Asderaki in 2011, refusing to shake her hand after her loss.

The return

In 2008, Williams used her win in the USA to recapture the world rankings she had lost in 2003. She didn’t drop a single set, even against Venus in the quarterfinals, then she swept Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic in the final.

The Title Series

From 2012 to 2014, Williams just persevered, winning three consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows. Frustrated by Australia’s Samantha Stosur in the final of the 2011 tournament, the fourth seed will only miss a set in the final.

It was Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka who almost blocked her path by offering part of the serve to win, at 5-3 in the decider, but Williams will come back from behind to win.

In 2013, the defending champion will only leave her opponent with crumbs and will meet the Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro in two sets in the quarter-finals 6-0. In the final she is again awaited by Azarenka, from which the American emerged victorious in three sets, as in the previous year.

His most dominant win

At the peak of her form in 2014, Williams won her sixth and final US Open title. She didn’t drop sets this time and never gave her rivals more than three games in a set. In the last confrontation, the Dane Caroline Wozniacki only fits and loses in two sets with 6:3.

The last final

It took until 2018 to see the legendary player again in the final of this Grand Slam tournament. That year, she lost to Japan’s Naomi Osaka in a match that felt like passing the torch.

In 2019, 20 years after her first final, she fought her way back to the last match of the week, this time losing 3: 6 and 5: 7 to Canadian Bianca Andreescu. A few weeks earlier, the Ontarian had also triumphed in front of Williams at the Rogers Cup after a failure in the first round.

It was the last opportunity for the American to join Margaret Court at the top with 24 Grand Slam titles.

Will she be able to pull a rabbit out of a hat in 2022?