Serena Williams slays Samantha Stosur to reach the final showdown – Family Circle Cup 2012
Former world number one, Serena Williams, flashed past the reigning US Open champion, Samantha Stosur, with double breadsticks at the Family Circle Cup 2012 on Saturday. She nudged up a 6-1, 6-1 victory against the world number five to book a spot in the
title-round at this green clay court event held in Charleston, United States.
The world number 10 reflected her old self at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier event and subsequently crushed Stosur in 59 minutes. Battling each other for the ninth time, Williams unveiled her true colours to not only extend her lead in the
head-to-head series by 6-3 against the Aussie but also inched closer to her 40th WTA career title.
"I have to say this is probably the best match I've played in my career either in a long time or it's up there in the Top 5," Williams was quoted afterwards. "Sam is such an excellent clay court player, and she's Top 10, Top 5, so playing someone that's
so good and doing so well is honestly a really good match for me.”
Home favourite, Williams made a strong start at the Family Circle Tennis Center and earned the coveted break in the opening game to jump to a 2-0 lead. After Stosur held her serve in the third game, the American blasted massive groundstrokes to wind up the
following four games in a row, ultimately clinching the opener with a 6-1 score line.
The 30-year-old kept momentum rolling in the follow-up set and went on a five-game tear before Stosur could hold on. Williams then held her serve once more and pulled out the second breadstick.
All in all, the American veteran clobbered a lower first serve share of 52 per cent as opposed to Stosur’s 70 per cent but spectacularly marked 21 out of 23 points on it.
"To be honest, I actually felt pretty good out there," the Aussie commented. "My body wasn't aching or really all that tired to be honest. I just thought she played very, very well today.”
Up next for Williams is the Czech star, Lucie Safarova, who devastated the 14th seed, Polona Hercog, with double bagels to set-up this epic battle.
Ranked 26th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Safarova brushed off all three breakpoints she came across and cashed in six out of nine break chances to jolt down a 6-0, 6-0 success. The Czech produced a slightly lower first serve share but acceptably
clicked 19 out of 28 points on it to steal the show.
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