Serena Wins Showdown With Venus to Reach Wimbledon Quarterfinals
There was a lot of anticipation heading into the fourth-round showdown between Serena and Venus Williams at Wimbledon on Monday, but Serena, the world number one, made it look routine at the All-England Club, beating her older sister 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals.
After Serena was pushed to the brink by Britain’s Heather Watson in the third-round, she made sure that didn’t happen on Monday. She secured a break at 2-2 in the first set, allowing her to serve out the remainder of that set. She then broke again at 3-3 in the second set, giving her the break advantage and enabling her to serve out the set and match.
“I played solid,” said Serena. “I knew playing someone like Venus, who’s beaten me the most, I had to be solid. I had to cut down my unforced errors. I had to take chances. And I was able to do that.”
Serena played probably her best match of the tournament, and the statistics reflect that. She fired 36 winners to just 13 unforced errors and won half off the points on Venus’ serve.
Venus had 15 winners to 12 unforced errors, but was just outdone by Serena who picked up break points in the biggest moments.
“It was just about the breaks, holding serve,” said Venus. “I think we were both hitting really well off the ground. She was able to capitalize on some short balls—she’s been playing so well. It’ll be tough for anyone to defeat her. Maybe she didn’t have her best day in the last round, but she found a way to win against an inspired opponent, and that’s what it takes to win these championships.”
Serena will play another former world number one in the quarterfinals, 23rd-seeded Victoria Azarenka. The Belarus native was too much for 18-year-old Swiss Belinda Bencic to handle on Monday, beating the 30th seed 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and eight minutes.
