Serena’s 71st Win of the Year Lands Her in China Open Semis
World number one Serena Williams moved on to the semifinals of the 2013 China Open on Friday after her 6-1, 6-4 win over Caroline Wozniacki. Serena appeared to be in complete control, getting out to a very quick 6-1, 4-0 lead, before Wozniacki reeled off three consecutive games in a row to close the gap to 6-1, 4-3, even getting to within a few points of evening the second set at four-all. With the win, Serena won her 71st match of the season, continuing to add to her career record of 58 match wins to date.
"I think overall it was the best performance I’ve had this week, which I’m excited about," said Serena about her record year. "It feels great and was definitely something I didn’t expect in the beginning of the year. Never even thought about it. So it’s like a big bonus for me. It feels really good."
Serena will face the number three-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in the semis, after Radwanska’s 7-6(7), 6-4 win over the seventh-seeded Angelique Kerber. Radwanska led 5-1 and had a total of six set points throughout the set, but eventually found herself in a tie-break, where Kerber stormed out to a 6-2, quadruple set point lead. Radwanska clawed back, but Kerber got a fifth one at 7-6. But back-to-back double faults gave Radwanska a seventh set point and she finally converted to take the set.
"I’m very happy to reach the semifinals here again, and I feel like I have nothing to lose," said Radwanska of her
Serena has beaten Radwanska in all six of their previous meetings.
Also advancing to the semis was Petra Kvitova, a quarterfinal upset winner over the fourth-seeded Li Na, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 31 minutes. In the semis, Kvitova will face Jelena Jankovic, a winner in two-hours and 36-minutes over Lucie Safarova, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4.
Safarova had won 11 of her last 12 matches and two of her last three against Jankovic, but it was Jankovic who won 10 of the last 11 points from 3-4 and deuce to finally close the match out.
"I lost to her the last time we played, in Fed Cup last year, so I was looking forward to playing her again," Jankovic said. "She’s been in great form—she’s had unbelievable results in the last month or so, winning Québec and beating top players in the last two tournaments, so I knew it would be a very tough match, and it was. She played great—she served unbelievably. It was a huge battle out there."
