Venus Williams tumbles over Anastasia Rodionova to reach quarters – Family Circle Cup 2012
Crowd favourite, Venus Williams, eased past the Australian star, Anastasia Rodionova, in straight sets at the Family Circle Cup 2012 on Thursday. She registered a 7- 5, 6-2 victory over the world number 98 to secure a place in the final eight at this green
clay court tournament held in Charleston, South Carolina.
The former world number one, Williams re-kindled her old spark at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier event and dumped the Russian-born Rodionova in their second meeting. After pocketing the match in one hour and 17 minutes, the American improved
to a 2-0 lifetime against Rodionova in the head-to-head series.
Currently ranked 87th in the WTA Premier Rankings, Williams made a wobbly entry at the Family Circle Tennis Center and after suffering the initial blow in the fifth game, she fell at 2-4. However, the American unleashed her true colours after
that and wiped out the following five out of six games to pull out the opener with a 7-5 win.
The 31-year-old kept her rhythm in the follow-up set and slid her serve in the opening with conviction. After the Aussie held her serve in the fourth game, Williams blasted power forehands to wind up the proceeding four games in a row, ultimately sealing
the set by winning six games to two.
Overall, Williams spilled more double faults and clobbered a slightly lower first serve share. However, she spectacularly clicked 27 out of 31 points on it and cashed in four out of 10 break opportunities to earn the glory.
The American veteran will play the winner of the match between second seeded Samantha Stosur and Kazakhstan’s Galina Voskoboeva.
"I think Sam has such an interesting game - she's one of the power players in the game, but clay courts suit her very well, so it's an interesting mix," Williams was quoted after the match. "If I do play her, I guess I'll try to do better than she does,
and try to win the match. That's all I can say. I haven't played her in a long time. We'll see."
Venus’s fifth seeded sister, Serena, will also be featuring in the quarter-finals. She got the better of New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic in straight sets to cruise in this event.
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