Serena and Venus battle through
- Saturday, September 5, 2009, 12:17
- Tennis
- 468 views
- Add a comment
World number two Serena Williams and sister Venus work hard to secure their spots in the US Open fourth round.Defending champion Serena snatched the first set against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and then survived a second-set fightback before prevailing 6-3 7-5. Third seed Venus produced an erratic display against Magdalena Rybarikova and, after struggling on serve throughout, eventually won 6-2 7-5. Serena now faces Daniela Hantuchova, with Venus up against Kim Clijsters. Number two seed Serena, who accused Martinez-Sanchez of cheating when they met at the French Open this year, was relieved after a slight wobble in the second set. “You can never underestimate anyone,” said the second seed, who attended her news conference wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the message, “Can’t spell dynasty without nasty”. “Some people, some days they have great days. I was just happy to keep getting through my match. “I got nasty, but to myself. I was just screaming to myself because I wasn’t very happy with my performance.” Slovakian Hantuchova saw off American Vania King 6-2 6-3 earlier on Friday with an impressive performance.
The number 22 seed was never in trouble as she struck 25 winners on her way to four breaks of serve, with King unable to live with Hantuchova’s guile and speed across the court. Clijsters, competing at Flushing Meadows for the first time since she won the title in 2005, continued her fine comeback to win the battle of the Belgians and reach round four. The 26-year-old, who recently returned after leaving tennis to get married and have her first child in 2007, took just 62 minutes in beating compatriot Kirsten Flipkens 6-0 6-2. Equally comfortable in victory was seventh seed Vera Zvonareva, who dispatched fellow Russian Elena Vesnina 6-2 6-4 in 85 minutes to set up a fourth-round meeting with Flavia Pennetta. The 27-year-old Italian underlined her US Open credentials with another rapid-fire win. Pennetta, seeded number 10, demolished Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1 6-1, meaning she has now lost only four games in three rounds.
606: DEBATE
Your thoughts on the action
Other Article
About the Author
admin has written 257 stories on this site.
Write a Comment
Gravatars are small images that can show your personality. You can get your gravatar for free today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
