Serena Williams’ serve devastates Victoria Azarenka in the semi-final – Wimbledon Championships 2012
In the battle between two former world number one players, the American powerhouse Serena Williams reigned supreme over the second seed Belarusian, Victoria Azarenka, in the semi-final of the Wimbledon Championships on Thursday.
Sixth seeded Williams displayed yet another exhibition of phenomenal serve and power hitting to route the hot favourite Belarusian tennis ace in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(6).
Williams used her lethal serve as her primary weapon of destruction and simply blow out the world number two with her sheer power. With an average first serve speed of 107mph, the American veteran bombarded 24 thudding aces to
her opponent’s court and dropped merely nine points on the first serve, winning 41 out of 50. She nailed two serve breaks in the match but keep on winning the all-important points on regularity to cruise through the contest with commanding ease.
Suffering an early setback in the opening set, Azarenka came back very strongly in the following set and played with far more aggression than she did in the opener. She kept fighting extremely hard in the second half of the match
but couldn’t get her hands on Williams’ fiery serve. Every time she went close to break the American serve, a couple of 120mph aces hampered her from taking the upper hand. The world number two was seen helpless at times but her valiant effort against the
hard-hitting sixth seed was worth appreciation.
"I'm so excited. I've been working so hard. I really wanted it," Williams said. "Victoria's a great player and has been playing really well. I got a little tight in the second set - I think I was looking too far into the future
and getting too excited about it. I definitely thought I served well. Actually during the match I thought I didn't serve well. I thought, 'Gosh, I've got to get more first serves in.' I didn't think my first serve percentage was up there. It really didn't
feel like I hit 24 aces at all. I felt like I maybe hit 10."
The six-time Wimbledon champion, Williams, will feature yet another final at the All England Tennis and Croquet Club. Her opponent in the title match will be the world number three, Agnieszka Radwanska, on Saturday. The third seed
crafty Pole outsmarted the world number eight, Angelique Kerber of Germany, in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, in the semi-final battle on Thursday to book a date with Williams in the final showdown of the mega event.
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