Williams dominant in punching ticket to final
Seventh Aussie Open title within reach after masterful victory over Radwanska
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA— Serena Williams gave another reminder of her dominance in women’s tennis with a 6-0, 6-4 win in the Australian Open semifinals against Agnieszka Radwanska, who is soon to move to the No. 3 ranking.
Six-time champion Williams has never lost a semifinal or final at the Australian Open.
The first set was no contest, over in 20 minutes. Williams hit 18 winners and Radwanska, in her fifth major semifinal, had one — in the fourth game.
The second set was closer, with Radwanska holding serve three times and breaking Serena’s powerful serve once.
But the 34-year-old Williams lifted again to finish it off, winning the last eight points of the match and closing with three aces and a big forehand winner.
Despite her 21 major titles and all her success, it is a loss that is inspiring Williams in this tournament. She was two wins away from a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015 when she lost to Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals.
“Physically I’m feeling a lot better, mentally I needed that break after the Open,” she said, but “I didn’t think I would do this well this fast. I’m really excited to be in the final — it just blows my mind right now.”
Williams remains unbeaten in nine matches against Radwanska, and is an overwhelming favourite going into the final against the winner of Thursday’s later match between No. 7-seeded Angelique Kerber and No. 47-ranked Johanna Konta, the first British woman since 1983 to reach a major semifinal.
With the roof on Rod Laver Arena closed because of a thunderstorm closing in, the most obvious noise in the first set was the chirping of trapped birds who’d taken shelter in the stadium.
The chirping intensified as Williams served in the sixth game of the second set, and she looked up angrily after her off-balance forehand from the baseline conceding her only service break of the match.
Williams finished with eight aces for the match — after none in the first set — and has dropped only 26 games in six rounds in a dominating run that included a 6-4, 6-1win over No. 5 Maria Sharapova in the quarter-finals, a rematch of the 2015 final.
The first men’s semifinal between defending champion Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will open the night session. Meanwhile, Andy Murray and a much lesser-known British player, Johanna Konta, advanced to the semifinals Wednesday.
Murray, making his 18th trip to a Grand Slam semifinal, beat David Ferrer 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday. Konta, who will be play- ing in her first major semi, had a 6-4, 6-1 win over Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai.
It’s the first time since the Decem- ber 1977 version of the Australian Open that two British players — John Lloyd and Sue Barker that year — have advanced to the final four of any major.
Konta, the first British woman to advance to a Grand Slam semifinal since Jo Durie at the 1983 U.S. Open, will play Angelique Kerber, who beat two-time champion Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 7-5.
The No. 2-seeded Murray, who has lost four finals at Melbourne Park, will play Canada’s Milos Raonic in a semifinal Friday.
The 27-year-old Zhang entered the Australian Open with a 0-14 record in Grand Slam singles matches. She said her two weeks in Melbourne and seven match wins in a row should result in a big rankings boost.
“In my heart I feel like I’ve won this tournament because I’ve won seven matches,” Zhang said.