Serena Schools Sloane as Women’s Quarters Take Shape

September 2, 2013 | By Eric C. Peck
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

In Round of 16 action on Sunday on Day Seven of the 2013 U.S. Open, the marquee matchup was an all-American affair, as top-seeded Serena Williams avenged her loss to fellow compatriot Sloane Stephens earlier this year at the Australian Open with a dominating 6-4, 6-1 victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"Going into the match, I definitely wanted to be focused the whole time," Serena said. "That’s all I wanted to do. Whether I was going to win or lose, I just wanted to play my game and do well today. It was definitely a high quality match out there. We both came out today to play. At the end of the day it was a fourth round match, but it definitely had feelings of a quarterfinal or a semifinal match."

Next up in the quarterfinals for Serena is the 18th-seeded Spaniard, Carla Suarez Navarro, a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 winner Sunday afternoon over the eighth-seeded German, Angelique Kerber. Serena remains in the hunt for her fifth U.S. Open title and 17th Grand Slam overall singles crown. Suarez Navarro is the first Spaniard since Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario in 1998 to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals in her first ever meeting with Kerber.

"It’s amazing to be in the quarterfinals and to be playing against Serena,” said Suarez Navarro. “She’s a very good player, she’s number one, she’s won a lot of Grand Slams, so it’s going to be difficult! I just need to be relaxed, concentrate on my game and just try to enjoy the match.”

Meanwhile, back at Louis Armstrong, it was the 24-seeded Ekaterina Makarova pulling off yet another upset as she took down the number three seed, Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals. Makarova’s win over Radwanska was her fifth top five win, her first one coming in 2012 over Petra Kvitova, and the other three coming earlier this year: Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open, Victoria Azarenka at Madrid and Sara Errani at New Haven.

Up next for Makarova in the quarterfinals is the number five seed, China’s Li Na, a 6-3, 6-0 winner Sunday evening over the ninth-seeded Jelena Jankovic. Li’s has a lifetime 3-0 record over Makarova coming into the quarterfinals, with all three wins on hard courts, including a three-set victory five years ago at the 2008 U.S. Open.

"I was really, really happy about the way I was playing today,” said Li. “I was trying to serve and volley and coming into the net so that I could win the points fast, because she’s so good in the rallies."

Click here to view the latest 2013 U.S. Open Women’s Singles Draw.

Credit all photos to Adam Wolfthal

Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska fell to the 24-seeded Ekaterina Makarova on Sunday at the U.S. Open

 

Serena Williams took another step toward defending her U.S. Open title Sunday, advancing to the quarterfinals, after her victory over Sloane Stephens

 

 

 


Eric C. Peck
Editor-in-Chief, Long Island Tennis Magazine

Eric C. Peck is Editor-in-Chief of Long Island Tennis Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at eric@litennismag.com

USTA NTC
Oneononedoubles banner art resize

March/April 2024 Digital Edition