Serena Williams puts Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in place as she eases into semi final – US Open 2011
After the rain had given its permission, the US Open kicked off on Thursday the 8th of September 2011. The number 28 seed but a favourite for the title, Serena Williams clashed against the number 17 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
on Arthur Ashe Stadium of The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for a place in the semi final. Williams, who is going on a 5-0 here so far, completed a 7-5 6-1 win over the Russian (Pavlyuchenkova) in simply 79 minutes.
Williams won the pitch and opened the set by smashing an ace; she then went on to breaking Pavlyuchenkova in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. Not wanting to increase the gap Pavlyuchenkova moved in quickly and volleyed a winner,
thus breaking Serena in the third game. Pavlyuchenkova still a break down, held her serve to equalize the score at 2-2. By the sixth game Serena broke her Russian adversary with a big cross-court backhand winner but in the seventh game the number 17 seed broke
back and evened the score and in the eighth game it went to 4-4. During the ninth game Serena slipped just for a moment as Pavlyuchenkova took the lead for a few minutes. Breaking back Serena slapped a ferocious forehand down the line and held her service
game in the eleventh. As the Russian was looking to push the set into a tie breaker, Serena was looking for a match point. The crowd chanted ‘Serena Serena’ and pouncing at the first opportunity Williams broke her Russian opponent to take the first set.
After 49 minutes of constant back and forth, 16 unforced errors and a tremendous struggle from both the players, Serena Williams won the opening set 7-5. The decisive break came in the last game when Serena got the better of Pavlyuchenkova
in an enduring game to seal the set. Although, Serena faced a slow start, she eventually won the set with a difference of eleven points, seventeen winner, and three aces in the initial set.
Opening the second set was Williams again; as Pavlyuchenkova’s forehand return went wayward, Serena won the opening game. The two rallied each other in the second game but then the Russian’s backhand went straight into the net,
giving Serena the opportunity to break her. In the following three games both the players held their serves but in the sixth game the players rallied three deuces but eventually as Pavlyuchenkova dumped the routine forehand into the net, she handed the game
to Serena, who was in the driving seat. Standing at 5-1 after the sixth game Serena was looking to hold her serve and as she sledge hammered an ace, she won the set with a speedy 6-1 victory.
When all was said and done, Pavlyuchenkova came just a bit short in the first set as one game kept them apart. But then Serena took her game to top gear in the second set. She went on to race away with four consecutive games before
Pavlyuchenkova could take the only game of the set. Overall in the match, the former world number one smashed 6 aces got 63% first serves on target and clobbered 26 winners to win the match, 7-5, 6-1.
Following her victory Serena said, “I tried to move my feet a little better and get pumped up, because I felt like I wasn't at my best. I just tried to do everything a little better."
Williams, who is 17-1 (withdrawal in Cincinnati) since moving from Wimbledon to hard courts will now be facing world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the semi final.
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