Western and Southern Open

Serena Williams reaches Western and Southern Open third round

American Williams, 38, stopped Rus serving out the match at 6-5 before winning 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 7-6 (7-0) in almost three hours.

Rus, ranked 72nd in the world, became edgy as a memorable win loomed and it was costly.

"It was a real physical match," said 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams.

"I played pretty well, I was being aggressive and hit some good shots, but she just kept fighting."

The two-time champion will play Greece's 13th seed Maria Sakkari in the third round.

Nadal's injury troubles resurface in heavy Coric defeat

Rafael Nadal's wrist troubles appeared to resurface as he suffered a 6-1 6-3 thumping at the hands of Borna Coric in the third round of the Western and Southern Open.

The world number five eased past Pablo Cuevas in the second round, but was comfortably beaten by 19-year-old Coric on Thursday.

Nadal eases past Cuevas

Rafael Nadal continued his solid form with a straight-sets win over Pablo Cuevas in the Western and Southern Open second round.

The Spaniard, who lost the bronze-medal match at the Olympics on his return from a wrist injury, gained a measure of revenge over Cuevas with a 6-1 7-6 (7-4) victory.