Monday, January 21, 2013

Williams to play Stephens in Australian Open quarterfinals

Serena Williams went down 0-40 in her first game against Maria Kirilenko in the Australian Open round of 16, and after that shaky start, the 3rd seed turned into a serving wonder, winning close to two dozen consecutive points on her serve. She defeated Kirilenko 6-2, 6-0, and in doing so, booked a quarterfinal match against protege, pal and practice partner Sloane Stephens.

Against Kirilenko, Williams got 87% of her first serves in, and she won points on 82% of them. She also won with 60% of her second serve. Williams hit 22 winners and made only 6 unforced errors.

Assuming that the next round will be referred to as a "good memory" for Stephens, Williams will face either top seed Victoria Azarenka or Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals.

1 comment:

Arsdorf said...

Although you are an exceptionally insightful tennis blogger, I was surprised by your snarkily dismissive comment about Sloane versus Serena. Did the match today change your opinion (or, at least, leave your face a tad red)?