Sometimes the biggest golf news comes courtesy of tennis. Such was the case at the U.S. Open on Wednesday night as Tiger Woods cheered on Serena Williams. The 23-time major champion Williams has announced her intention to “evolve” away from professional tennis but on this night defeated No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit 7-6, 2-6, 6-2. The cameras caught Woods clapping and throwing uppercuts with every thunderous winner, and afterward he wrote on social media, “It was a privilege to watch greatness.” Williams and Woods have been friends for a while, and when Woods came back from injuries to win the 2019 Masters, it was Williams who cheered him on, posting congratulations on social media. Now, though, the spotlight is on Williams, with Woods doing the cheering. That she is even playing at all owes partly to the 82-time PGA TOUR winner. In a first-person essay that ran in Vogue early last month, Williams announced she was headed toward retirement. “I don’t want it to be over,” she wrote, “but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.” She also cited Woods’ influence in her decision to return to the game last spring: “He’s Tiger, and he was adamant that I be a beast the same way he is!” Williams, 40, helped break a night-session record with 29,959 fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium to catch her second-round match. In addition to Woods, celebrities in attendance included Zendaya, Spike Lee, Gladys Knight, Seal, Anthony Anderson, and Anna Wintour. It was Williams’ 103rd win at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the most of any player. She and her sister Venus are scheduled to play doubles Thursday night before Serena takes on Ajla Tomljanovic in a third-round singles match Friday.
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