Serena Williams topples Elena Vesnina in the second round – Family Circle Cup 2012
Former world number one, Serena Williams of USA, did not face much difficulty in disposing off 56th ranked, Elena Vesnina, in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the round of 16 at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston,
USA on Tuesday.
The 13-time Grand Slam winner, Williams, took just an hour and 25 minutes to beat the doubles specialist.
Both players started by holding their serves to take the score to 1-1. Williams struck in the fourth game and capitalised on it to race to a 4-1 lead. The American did not lose her serve even once in the opener and closed it 6-3.
Williams, who has the record for the fastest serve in women’s tennis, bombarded eight aces and 63 percent of the first deliveries. The American won 16 of the 24 first and nine of the 14 second serve points. The fifth seed kept
attacking Vesnina’s second deliveries, claiming six of the 10 points on them. Williams put away all the four break threats she faced and availed one of the two opportunities she received in the opener.
The American drew the first blood in the second set, snatching a break in the third game and holding her next serve to attain a 3-1 lead. Vesnina challenged Williams this time, as she won next two games to equalise the score at
3-3. However, the Russian lost her serve immediately, managing to claim just one of the next four games and dropping the second set 4-6.
The level of William’s serve dropped, as her aces were reduced to three and she also committed the same number of double faults this time. The American had weaker second deliveries, losing five of the nine points on them. However,
the thing which did not deteriorate was her return on the Russian’s second serve, as she captured eight of the 13 points on them.
Talking to the reporters after the match, Williams said, "I forgot I hadn't played on clay in so long, but that's so true. I really love the clay. I feel like it suits my game. I don't have to go crazy and move my feet so much.
And it's no different from hard or grass - I should be able to play the same and do the same, if not better, because I have more time."
The American is drawn to meet either Marina Erakovic or Anna Tatishvili in the third round.
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