Williams equals record for wins at Aussie Open
Li Na also advances on blistering day at Melbourne
MELBOURNE, AUSTR ALIA — Serena Williams wore a fitted pink blazer into her second-round match at the Australian Open, giving the impression she wasn’t feeling the heat.
After her 6-1, 6-2 win over Vesna Dolonc on Wednesday, the second consecutive scorching day at the season’s first major, Williams said she could remember hotter matches.
She extended her winning stretch to 24 matches dating back to August and improved to 60-8 at the Australian Open, equalling Margaret Court’s record of 60 match wins at the tournament in the Open era.
On Day 3 at Melbourne Park, the centre court was — at least according to the two fans holding up a sign — “Serena’s Arena.”
“I just try to hit a bunch of aces and a bunch of winners — that’s all you can do because it’s too hot to get into long rallies,” she said.
The heat topped 40C (104F) during the 63-minute match and peaked at just under 42 C (108 F) during Novak Djokovic’s 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 win over Leonardo Mayer. Secondseeded Djokovic, aiming to be the first man in the Open era to win four consecutive Australian Open titles, didn’t face a break point.
Williams fended off the only break point she faced with an ace, one of her 10 in the match. She hit 24 winners.
She said didn’t even go outside Tuesday because she heard the conditions “were a little bit extreme,” adding that the prospect of the scorching temperatures even interrupted her sleep.
“I kept waking up in the middle of the night last night just paranoid. I just wanted to stay hydrated,” she said. “The last thing I want to do is to cramp in this weather. It can happen so easy.”
Temperatures topped 42 C (108F) on Tuesday and there were a total of nine retirements in the first round, equalling a Grand Slam record. The forecast is for the heat wave to continue until Friday.
Li Na opened proceedings on Rod Laver on Wednesday and completed back-to-back wins over the two youngest players in the draw.
The 2011 French Open champ, a two-time finalist, raced through the first set against 16-year-old Belinda Bencic, conceding just 10 points. She had to work harder in the second before winning 6-0, 7-6 (5).