Serena Williams defeats Maria Sharapova moves into quarterfinals at Wimbledon Tennis
Top-seeded Serena Williams stormed into the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, defeating former titleist Maria Sharapova in straight sets with a final score of 7-6 (9), 6-4. The women faced off on Centre Court in a rematch of their previous meeting at the 2004 finals, during which Sharapova claimed the grass court title.
Three-time defending champion Serena Williams used every ounce of her might on the way to match victory, combining a whopping total of 19 aces and 31 winners on Monday to outdo once champion Sharapova, who is currently seeded at No 16.
Williams won the match in 1 hour, 36 minutes, having to save three set points in the opening set. Williams will now face Chinese Li Na in their upcoming quarterfinal match, in what should be a relatively effortless victory.
After Williams netted a forehand, Sharapova continued to hold a 6-4 lead in the opening-set tiebreak. Sharapova did have the chance to serve, yet ended up losing her advantage by fumbling a forehand into the net, and thereby lessening her lead to 6-5.
Serving while down 6-5, Williams managed to save the second point with a dependable winning backhand. On another Williams serve, Sharapova got the final set point, but was unable to carry through her return.
Following the match, Williams commented on Sharapova's game by saying: "She played really well, I thought she played so well today. She's really doing good." It was evident that the Centre Court crowd was clearly rooting for Sharapova to pull through to the quarters, but Williams seemed unperturbed and said, "The crowd was great."
Sharapova let the opportunities pass by
Although she managed to recover from being 3-1 down in the opening set, Sharapova ended up wasting three set points during the tiebreaker.
The serve was what everyone was talking about in the second set. With an absolutely immaculate serve, Williams flew through her game, never having to face break point even once. Sharapova's serve was not as impressive, although it was decent enough. She committed several badly timed double faults in game three of the set, helping Williams to secure the much-needed break, the only break point for either player throughout the entire duration of the second set.
At 1-1 in the second set, Sharapova committed a double-fault, thus giving Williams two break points. Finally, Sharapova slammed a forehand into the net, handing Williams the game.
Williams moves on to the quarters, but Sharapova does have many positives to take away from her defeat. Her serve was actually at a better percentage than it has been over the course of the last year. More importantly, Sharapova was able to match Serena's force and depth off the ground with efficienty. Had Sharapova been adept at converting at least one of the three set points that occurred in the first frame, the end of the match would have turned out in an entirely different manner.
Although the power of No. 9 seeded Li Na is no match for the ferocity of Williams, their face off in the quarterfinals is nevertheless sure to be a complex match. Clearly, the Chinese tennis star is the underdog by all counts against her illustrious opponent, yet her relative poise and calm on court is not to be mistaken for meekness. She could potentially pose a tricky run-around for Williams, but a win for Serena seems to be a sure bet at this point.
The winner of the Williams vs Li Na match will go on to play the winner of Kaia Kanepi vs. Petra Kvitova, in what should be trifling victory in a painless match.
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