The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top-ranked Halep defeated by former No. 1 Williams
Since returning to the tour, Williams has reached the past two Grand Slam finals, losing both — and leaving her still one shy of equaling Margaret Court’s record of 24 major singles titles.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — As Serena Williams made her way out to the Australian Open’s main court during introductions, the voice booming over the stadium’s speakers implored spectators to welcome “the world’s No. 1 player — from Romania, Simona Halep.” Oops. Williams, wearing headphones, quickly pivoted and retreated back into the tunnel she’d just emerged from, making way for her fourth-round opponent Monday night. A couple of hours later, when Williams wrapped up her 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Halep in a contest filled with momentum swings and fantastic play by both, it was clear which woman really is No. 1, regardless of what the current rankings say.
“It was a really intense match, and it was some incredible points,” said Williams, who improved to 9-1 against Halep and now meets 2016 U.S. Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinals.
The 37-year-old American sat out last year’s Australian Open after giving birth to a daughter months earlier and dealing with health complications. Since returning to the tour, Williams has reached the past two Grand Slam finals, losing both — and leaving her still one shy of equaling Margaret Court’s record of 24 major singles titles.
Halep offered the first real test Williams has faced at this year’s Australian Open, where she is bidding for an eighth trophy, pushing her throughout a back-and-forth matchup that was a fascinating mix of power, court coverage and shotmaking. It wasn’t until Williams saved three break points in a monumental game to hold for 3-all in the third set that she gained control. Williams then broke for a 4-3 lead and finally was on her way.
Pliskova advanced with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over twotime major champ Garbine Muguruza. The other quarterfinal on that side of the women’s bracket features No. 4 Naomi Osaka against No. 6 Elina Svitolina. Osaka, who beat Williams in last year’s U.S. Open final, edged No. 13 Anastasija Sevastova 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth round, while Svitolina got past 2017 U.S. Open finalist Madison Keys 6-2, 1-6, 6-1.
In men’s matches, 2016 Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic knocked off No. 4-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-1, 7-6 (5), and next takes on No. 28 Lucas Pouille, a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (2) winner over No. 11 Borna Coric.
No. 23 Pablo Carreno Busta left the court yelling at the chair umpire after a disagreement in the concluding tiebreaker of his 6-7 (8), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (8) loss to No. 8-seeded Kei Nishikori in a 5-hour, 5-minute marathon that was the longest match of the tournament. Nishikori’s quarterfinal foe will be No. 1-seeded Novak Djokovic, who overcame a couple of tumbles to the court and a series of energy-sapping baseline exchanges — one point lasted 42 strokes — to beat No. 15 Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3.
“I didn’t feel so great, you know, in the last 20 minutes of the match or so,” said Djokovic, aiming for a record seventh men’s title in Australia.
“It was not the fall. It was not particularly the fall. It was just, you know, a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of back. Nothing major. We’ll see tomorrow how the body reacts, but I’m confident I can recover and I can be ready for next one.”