Serena comes through Halep test to reach semi-finals
—to meet Osaka next
MELBOURNE, (Reuters) - Serena Williams came through a huge test of her Australian Open title credentials to reach the last four at Melbourne Park for the ninth time with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Simona Halep in a high quality quarterfinal yesterday.
The 39-year-old went toe-to-toe with the Romanian second seed over 80 minutes on Rod Laver Arena before she was finally able to move to within two victories of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.
Williams hit some ferocious forehands and moved around the court with a freedom that she has not enjoyed for a good while to set up a semi-final meeting against in-form Japanese third seed Naomi Osaka.
“I think this was the best match I have played at this tournament, for sure,” Williams said after celebrating her win to the accompaniment of canned applause as Melbourne’s coronavirus lockdown kept the fans away for a fourth day.
“I knew it had to be going up against the number two in the world. I had to be better and I was, so I’m excited.”
If any match at this year’s tournament deserved a crowd, it was this. There were nine breaks of serve as two great competitors punched and counter-punched over lengthy rallies.
Williams was always in front in the first set but needed to dig deep to wrestle back the momentum after Halep took a 31 lead in the second.
The match turned decisively when Williams broke for 4-3 after a 13-shot rally where she showed incredible athleticism to get to a couple of shots that would have defied most players.
Seven minutes later, she wrapped up the contest with a huge forehand, her 24th winner.
“My feeling after this match is that I was not that far (away) but she was stronger in the important moments,” said Halep.
“I’m not that disappointed with myself.”
Williams has not landed one of the game’s major prizes since her seventh title at Melbourne Park in 2017, with Halep’s victory in the 2019 Wimbledon final denying her one opportunity to match Margaret Court’s record.
After gaining a measure of revenge for that defeat, Williams has the chance to avenge another when she plays Osaka, who won the 2018 U.S. Open final between the two.
“I feel this is a great opportunity for me just to do my best in the first Grand Slam of the year,” she said.
Kaysia Schultz grabbed a fourwicket haul while Kavita Yadram and Cherry-Ann Fraser got among the runs in Demerara’s first female trial yesterday at the La Bonne Intention, East Coast Demerara.
With 17 players responding to the call, the ladies, coached by Cricket West Indies Level Two coach, Ryan Hercules, went through two batting sessions.
In the first session, Schultz, a left-arm spinner who has been a mainstay in recent West Indies Women training camps, showed her class as she bagged four wickets for just 15 runs from four overs. The 21-year-old pulled off a sharp return catch to dismiss Mandy Mangru for a 27-ball 16 before working her way through the middle order.
The Craig, East Bank Demerara resident, trapped Akaze Thompson (02) leg before wicket and found the edge of Heema Singh’s bat as the batting side lost four wickets for 12 runs.
Shultz, however, could not break the 67-run six-wicket partnership between Yadram and Fraser.
The duo resisted and cashed in on a lot of singles and twos by finding the gaps.
Schultz was struck for nine runs in her final over with the two players hitting one boundary each.
Fraser made 30 from 32 balls before holing out to mid-wicket off a long hop from leg-spinner, Vanita Balkisoon in the final over of the innings.
Yadram was unbeaten on 35 from 62 balls, the highest score of the day.
Yadram, 27, said she was happy to make a return to the field and was a bit nervous at the start of her innings but with the experienced Fraser at the other end, she was confident that they could build a partnership.
According to Hercules, the objective was to gauge the batters with targets and those were set at intervals of 15 overs. The first set reached 71 for five wickets in their assessment while the second set only lost one wicket for 76 runs.
Hercules said that he was impressed with the way Fraser and Yadram batted but was disappointed in the women giving away 76 extras.
When the second side batted, only Haseena Mohammed was
able to construct an innings before she was run out for 18. She later returned with the ball to take two wickets for 10 runs.
Off-spinner, Mangru grabbed
two wickets for five runs while Fraser returned two wickets for 30 runs from her six overs.
The women will return today from 09.00 hours for the second
trial and the organisers are inviting females who are interested to come and participate for a spot on the Demerara Inter-County team.
All matches to be played in a biosecure environment in Antigua with matches at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (3 x T20Is) and Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (3 x ODIs and 2 x Tests) ST JOHN’S, Antigua —Cricket West Indies (CWI) yesterday confirmed the all-format International tour between West Indies and Sri Lanka starting next month, signalling the return of international cricket to the Caribbean. The two teams will play three (3) T20Is, three (3) One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and two (2) Test matches in a bio-secure environment in Antigua from March 3 to April 2.The T20I Series will create history as the first official International matches to be played by the West Indies Men’s team at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) and the first West Indies Men’s T20Is to be played in Antigua since 2013. As reigning ICC T20 World Cup champions, West Indies will use these matches as important preparation for the defence of their T20 World Cup title which is scheduled to be held in India later this year.The CG Insurance ODI Series will played at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium on March 10, 12 and 14 — with the third being a day/night encounter. The CG Insurance ODIs form part of the ICC Super League and these three matches provide the opportunity for West Indies to secure their first points as the team tries to qualify automatically for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India.The two Test matches will be played at the same venue with the first match starting March 21 and the second starting March 29, providing the West Indies with another opportunity to win points and climb the ICC World Test Championship table following the recent fantastic series win in
Bangladesh.The last International West Indies Men’s Home Series featured Ireland in January last year. Since then West Indies men have made three overseas tours to England, New Zealand and Bangladesh as part of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP).As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, both teams will stay and play in bio-secure bubbles with all the matches being held in Antigua to accommodate a later arrival date by Sri Lanka. Fans will not be able to attend matches, but will be able to follow on TV, radio and through CWI’s digital channels.CWI President Ricky Skerritt said that he was pleased that the tour was going ahead.“We are pleased to be able to finally confirm this tour. A number of COVID-19 related
logistic hurdles have now been overcome and I want to thank Sri Lankan Cricket President, Shammi Silva and his team, for their co-operation in honouring their obligation to tour under the ICC FTP Agreement,” said Skerritt.“We are also extremely grateful for the support we received from the Governments of Antigua & Barbuda, and St. Lucia in planning this tour. But it is regrettable that we are unable to include St. Lucia as part of this home series as we had originally hoped to due to the delay in Sri Lanka arriving and the need for the tour to end before the start of the Indian Premier League,” he added.CWI has been working closely with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Sport in Antigua & Barbuda to orchestrate all the logistics and agree
the safety and medical protocols for the tour. All players, support staff and match officials will be kept in a bio-secure environment, with regular COVID-19 PCR testing taking place with assistance from the local Ministry of Health and CARPHA.CWI CEO Johnny Grave was pleased with the development.“We are delighted to be able to re-start international cricket in the West Indies, with the announcement of the tour by Sri Lanka. We have a full schedule featuring all three formats, which is sure to attract lots of attention from our fans, especially following on from the terrific Test Series win in Bangladesh. A lot of detailed planning has gone into the hosting of this tour and we are confident it will be a success,” said Grave.
FULL MATCH SCHEDULECCG – Coolidge Cricket GroundSVRS – Sir Vivian Richards StadiumECT – Eastern Caribbean TimeJT – Jamaica TimeMarch 3: 1st T20I at CCG – 6pm ECT/5pm JTMarch 5: 2nd T20I at CCG – 6pm ECT/ 5pm JTMarch 7: 3rd T20I at CCG – 6pm ECT/5pm JTMarch 10: 1st CG Insurance ODI at SVRS – 9:30am ECT/ 8:30am JTMarch 12: 2nd CG Insurance ODI at SVRS – 9:30am ECT/8:30am JTMarch 14: 3rd CG Insurance ODI at SVRS – 1:30pm ECT/12:30pm JT (day/night)March 17-18: twoday warm-up match at CCGMarch 21-25: 1st Test at SVRS – 10am ECT/9am JTMarch 29 to April 2: 2nd Test at SVRS – 10am ECT/9am JT