Williams Sisters book a spot in the semi-finals of the doubles draw – London Olympics 2012
American tennis titans, Serena Williams and Venus Williams, continued with their ballistic run of form at the Olympic Games and blasted their way in to the semi-finals of the doubles draw. The Williams Sisters overwhelmed the second
seeded Italian tandem of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, in the quarter-final brawl on Thursday.
Albeit unseeded in the tournament, the Williams Sisters are rated as the hot favourite for defending their doubles gold medal at the coveted London Games this season. The two American powerhouses have barely faced a serious challenge
en route to the semi-finals and are well on course of another championship victory at the All England Tennis Club.
Winner of the Grand Slam doubles title at this year’s French Open, Errani and Vinci were anticipated to lift eh Olympic gold as well. However, the belligerent Williams Sisters were expected to do away with the second seeded Italians
and they did it comprehensively. Serena and Venus barely spared two games in the entire matchup to inflict a humiliating defeat to the Italians. Their coordination was worth a watch and they absolutely manhandled Errani and Vinci throughout the battle earn
a place in the semis.
The contest took off with successive serve holds from both ends, followed by a seven-game killing spree from the Williams Sisters. Serena and Venus nailed two back-to-back break points in the fourth and sixth games, rocketing away
to a commanding 5-1 lead. They had not troubles in serving out of the set and clinched it at 6-1 to get the upper hand in the match.
The American express continued with its winning impetus in the following set and the second seeded Italians had to suffer another break of serve to fall back at 0-2 right away. Errani and Vinci finally got hold of a serve in the
third game of the set, only to be broken in the fifth to trail 1-4. Serena and Venus carried on their onslaught to reach 5-1 and an all-important serve break in the seventh game proved to be decisive in the match, concluding victory for the sisters at 6-1.
Serena and Venus will take on the third seeded Russian duo of Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova in the semi-finals of the Olympic Games on Friday afternoon. The Russians had a rough ride against the unseeded Chinese pair of Shuai
Peng and Jie Zheng in the quarter-finals, eventually defeating them in three sets, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4.
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