Have You Seen This? Serena Williams' US Open performance unites sports world

QUEENS — When Serena Williams was asked Wednesday after her upset win over No. 2-ranked Anett Kontaveit whether she was surprised by her play at the age of 40, she simply said, "I'm just Serena."

Well, "just Serena" was enough to send Williams through to the third round of the U.S. Open — hinted at being her last tournament — and unite the nation in support of one of the greatest icons in sports.

The battle was tight between Williams and Kontaveit early, with the first set going to a tiebreaker, which was won by Williams. The Estonian pro took momentum in the match with a 6-2 win in the second set, making it harder to envision Williams — 14 years her senior — being able to come back and win it.

Then, with a 4-2 lead in the third set and the game-point advantage, Williams did this:

It was the type of moment sports fans live for. It makes you feel something and want to shout "Serena!" from the rooftops (or Twitter). And shout they did.

The biggest voices and icons in sports were present for the moment, both in person and on social media. The most visible was Tiger Woods, who was cheering on Williams from her box at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

According to Ava Wallace of the Washington Post: "Serena Williams says Tiger Woods is 'one of the main reasons' she's still playing. 'He was like, ok, we can do this together.'"

LeBron James joined in on the cheering from his home, posting a video on Instagram of him watching Williams on TV and making goat noises, calling her the "GOAT" or "Greatest of All Time."

Williams won the third set 6-2 to win the match and advance to the third round, where she will face Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia on Friday at 5 p.m. MDT.

Williams will be back on the court Thursday with her sister Venus at 5 p.m. MDT on ESPN as they begin their quest for a 15th Grand Slam doubles title, which would break a tie for second most in the Open Era.

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