Serena makes Toronto semis
Source: Agencies |
August 14, 2011, Sunday
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A BATTLE-TESTED Serena Williams booked her spot in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto on Friday after overcoming a sluggish start to grind out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Czech Lucie Safarova.
Williams, whose 11-month layoff with injury and health problems ended in June, was a shadow of herself in the first set but rallied with raw power and shot-making to wrap up the match without losing serve in the last two sets. "I could have had a better chance in the first set but I lost some key points," Williams, who won the Stanford Classic last month and is on a nine-match winning streak, told reporters.
"It was all about maybe one or two points here that would've made a difference and some silly double faults that didn't make sense."
The third set went with serve until Williams broke world No. 32 Safarova in an intense fifth game in which she unleashed several loud screams to get herself going.
The vocal strategy seemed to pay off as she wrapped up the match without conceding another game.
The former world No. 1, unseeded here because of her long layoff, faces her toughest test yet against Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who has not lost a set so far and is the highest seeded player left in the draw.
Azarenka ended Kazakh qualifier Galina Voskoboeva's surprise run with a clinical 6-1, 6-2 victory.
On the other side of the draw, 10th seed Samantha Stosur booked her ticket to the semifinals with a fuss-free 6-4, 6-1 win over Italy's Roberta Vinci in their first meeting.
The 27-year-old Australian, who dropped out of the top 10 this week for the first time in over a year, fired five aces and held serve throughout the match to overpower the Italian, who relied on backhand slice and moving the ball around the court.
Stosur will meet in-form Pole Agnieszka Radwanska for a place in the final. Radwanska won the San Diego Open last week and extended her win streak to nine with a 6-4, 6-3 win over German Andrea Petkovic.
In Montreal, Novak Djokovic's reign as world No. 1 remained unblemished as the Serb blasted Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-1 off the court to ease into the semifinals of the Rogers Cup on Friday.
Djokovic's win extended his season record to a spectacular 51-1 and it also set the scene for an intriguing showdown with another Frenchman in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who earlier delighted the center court crowd with his 6-4, 6-4 win over eighth-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.
The other semifinal will see American Mardy Fish take on Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic.
Fish finished strongly to beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-0, while Tipsarevic upset seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-4.
Williams, whose 11-month layoff with injury and health problems ended in June, was a shadow of herself in the first set but rallied with raw power and shot-making to wrap up the match without losing serve in the last two sets. "I could have had a better chance in the first set but I lost some key points," Williams, who won the Stanford Classic last month and is on a nine-match winning streak, told reporters.
"It was all about maybe one or two points here that would've made a difference and some silly double faults that didn't make sense."
The third set went with serve until Williams broke world No. 32 Safarova in an intense fifth game in which she unleashed several loud screams to get herself going.
The vocal strategy seemed to pay off as she wrapped up the match without conceding another game.
The former world No. 1, unseeded here because of her long layoff, faces her toughest test yet against Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who has not lost a set so far and is the highest seeded player left in the draw.
Azarenka ended Kazakh qualifier Galina Voskoboeva's surprise run with a clinical 6-1, 6-2 victory.
On the other side of the draw, 10th seed Samantha Stosur booked her ticket to the semifinals with a fuss-free 6-4, 6-1 win over Italy's Roberta Vinci in their first meeting.
The 27-year-old Australian, who dropped out of the top 10 this week for the first time in over a year, fired five aces and held serve throughout the match to overpower the Italian, who relied on backhand slice and moving the ball around the court.
Stosur will meet in-form Pole Agnieszka Radwanska for a place in the final. Radwanska won the San Diego Open last week and extended her win streak to nine with a 6-4, 6-3 win over German Andrea Petkovic.
In Montreal, Novak Djokovic's reign as world No. 1 remained unblemished as the Serb blasted Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-1 off the court to ease into the semifinals of the Rogers Cup on Friday.
Djokovic's win extended his season record to a spectacular 51-1 and it also set the scene for an intriguing showdown with another Frenchman in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who earlier delighted the center court crowd with his 6-4, 6-4 win over eighth-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.
The other semifinal will see American Mardy Fish take on Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic.
Fish finished strongly to beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-0, while Tipsarevic upset seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-4.
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