Serena silences the guns of Bouzkova
TORONTO: Serena Williams withstood the determined challenge of Czech qualifier Marie Bouzkova on Saturday, rallying for a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory to reach the WTA Toronto final.
The 37-year-old Williams, seeded eighth in a tournament she has won three times, was due to take on home hope Bianca Andreescu in the championship match last night.
Williams, playing in her first event since losing the Wimbledon final, won the last of her 72 singles titles in the 2017 Australian Open — her 23rd Grand Slam title.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Andreescu became the first Canadian in 50 years to make the final following her 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) victory over Sofia Kenin on Saturday.
Bouzkova, 21 and ranked 91st in the world, had said it was a dream come true to take on 37-year-old US superstar Williams, and she made a dream start — breaking Williams three times to take the first set in less than half an hour.
But Williams rallied, slashing her unforced errors in a second set that saw her win the last four games to force the decider.
“I just needed to be more consistent and not make so many errors and just mentally be ready to hit a thousand balls if I needed to,” Williams said. “In the first set, I was going for a little too much, so I just had to just play a different game.”
The hard work wasn’t over, as Williams had to fight off three break points in the third game of the third set.
She broke Bouzkova in the next game to finally take control and end the Czech’s breakout week.
Bouzkova departs Toronto having beaten three straight Grand Slam winners in Sloane Stephens, Jelena Ostapenko and, in the quarter-finals, reigning Wimbledon champion Simona Halep — who retired injured after dropping the first to Bouzkova on Friday night.
NADAL GETS WALKOVER Top-seeded defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain advanced to the Rogers Cup final in Montreal on Saturday night when Gael Monfils of France withdrew before their semi-final.
Nadal will face eighth-seeded Daniil Medvedev, a 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) winner over
sixth-seeded Karen Khachanov in the all-Russian first semi-final.
“It’s extra special,” Medvedev said about facing Nadal for the first time. “I played Novak [Djokovic] and Roger [Federer] a few times. It’s different... there is some extra pressure.”
Nadal won last year in Toronto for his fourth title in the event. He has 82 singles victories.