Serena Williams celebrates after her women's singles second round victory over Anett Kontaveit of Estonia at the 2022 US Open in New York, Aug 31, 2022. (LIU JIE / XINHUA)

NEW YORK - 40-year-old Serena Williams roared into the US Open third round with a 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 win over second seed Anett Kontaveit in New York on Wednesday.

Kontaveit leveled the match before Williams broke Kontaveit twice in the decider to seal the victory.

"I just wanted to keep trying and see what I could do and do my best. I don't have anything to prove, I don't have anything to win. I have absolutely nothing to lose," Williams said.

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev also made it into the third round by defeating Arthur Rinderknech of France 6-2, 7-5, 6-3

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev also made it into the third round by defeating Arthur Rinderknech of France 6-2, 7-5, 6-3.

Medvedev was a finalist in the 2019 US Open before beating Novak Djokovic last year for his first major title.

In the third round matchup, Medvedev will play against Wu Yibing, the first Chinese mainland player to win a US Open main draw match in the Open era.

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Wu Yibing hits a return during his men's singles second round victory against Nuno Borges of Portugal at the US Open, Aug 31, 2022. (LIU JIE / XINHUA)

Wu kept up his history-making momentum by beating fellow qualifier Nuno Borges of Portugal in a five-set thriller 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

"This is my first Grand Slam second round. It was great for myself that I could maintain my level until the fifth set," Wu said.

"What I need now is a good rest and to keep my eagerness for victory in the next round," said the 22-year-old after the four-hour marathon.

The US has been a happy hunting ground for Wu. He became the world No 1 in the ITF juniors ranking after winning the boys' singles title at the 2017 US Open.

Wang Xiyu of China shocked world No 3 Maria Sakkari of Greece 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, while Zhang Shuai beat Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-5, 6-1, as both Chinese players stormed into the women's singles round of 32. 

"I'm excited about the result. Today I did a good job but still need to improve my serving and my consistency. I'm just trying my best to save every ball," Wang, 21, said.

"I played really well today. Passing such a big test allows me to see my improvement. So happy to see many Chinese men and women make breakthroughs in this tournament," 33-year-old Zhang said.