Serena smashes into quarter-finals
Serena Williams scrapped her way into the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, working around a misfiring serve and a rash of unforced errors to beat Barbora Strycova on Monday.
She had a little bit of luck in some big moments, but created it herself by staying in points against the No. 16-ranked Strycova, who made the No. 2-ranked Williams engage in more and longer rallies than anyone so far in the tournament.
Despite the four service breaks (three in the first set) and 46 unforced errors, and with the fluky net cord and the off-balance, scrunched-shoulder backhand that bounced flatly and clinched her the first set on her eighth set point, Williams found a way to win 7-5, 6-4.
That keeps Williams on track in her bid for an Open-era record 23rd grand slam title. If she gets there, the 35-year-old American will regain the No. 1 ranking as well.
Next up, she’ll face No. 9 Johanna Konta, who beat Ekaterina Makarova for the second straight year in the fourth round.
Williams’s fourth-round match started with four straight service breaks, with only two points going with serve, until Williams held for a 3-2 lead. There were seven service breaks in the first set, with Williams getting the decisive one in the 12th game.
She broke Strycova’s serve early in the second to establish a lead but was broken while serving for the match. She finished off in the next game with another break of her own, her sixth of the match.
Williams advanced to the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park for the 11th time since 2001.
Angelique Kerber, who beat Williams in the final in Melbourne last year and ended the 22-time grand slam winner’s 186-week streak at No. 1 by winning the U.S. Open, was upset in the fourth round in a straight-sets loss to Coco Vandeweghe on Sunday night.
The hot-and-cold run of weather in Melbourne continued, with the temperatures hitting 35 C when Williams walked onto Rod Laver Arena. It followed a chaotic middle Sunday that contained two big upsets, with Kerber’s exit following top-ranked and five-time finalist Andy Murray’s fourth-round defeat by No. 50-ranked Mischa Zverev.
Roger Federer, returning from six months on the sidelines, rebounded to beat No. 5 Kei Nishikori in five sets and will meet Zverev in the quarter-finals.