Serena puts paid to Venus’ hopes
LAST-16: WILLIAMS WAR ENDS IN VICTORY FOR WORLD NO 1 Sharapova goes through, but Wozniacki tumbles.
Serena Williams sank her sister Venus in a battle of the all-conquering Wimbledon titans yesterday as Maria Sharapova dug deep to join the world No 1 in reaching the quarterfinals.
The Williams sisters have won the title five times each out of the last 15 at the All England Club, but it was Serena who triumphed in their first Grand Slam clash since the 2009 Wimbledon final.
Meanwhile, 2004 Wimbledon champion Sharapova, 2012 beaten finalist Agnieszka Radwanska and two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka also booked their places in today’s quarterfinals.
All eight Wimbledon quarterfinalists from last year are out, while Serena and Sharapova are the only two from the world’s top 12 who are still standing.
US duo Madison Keys and Coco Vandeweghe, Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky and Garbine Muguruza of Spain also made it to the last-eight.
Serena secured her 14th win in 26 clashes with Venus and the sisters hugged at the net after the match finished 6-4, 6-3.
Playing each other “definitely doesn’t get easier”, Serena said.
“I was out there, I thought, wow, I’m 33 and she just turned 35. I don’t know how many more moments like this we’ll have. I plan on playing for years but you never know if we’ll have the opportunity to face each other.”
Serena now faces Azarenka, the 2012 and 2013 Australian Open champion after the Belarusian 23rd seed saw off the in-form Belinda Bencic, on a career-high ranking of 22, 6-2, 6-3.
Sharapova endured her toughest test so far but still made it through to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Kazakhstan’s unseeded Zarina Diyas.
She faces Vandeweghe in the quarterfinals after the US world No 47 edged out Czech sixth seed Lucie Safarova, last month’s beaten French Open finalist, 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/4).
While Serena, Sharapova and Azarenka have 27 Grand Slam titles between them, there are no major winners at all in the bottom half of the draw, where 13th seed Radwanska is the highest-ranking player still standing after Caroline Wozniacki crashed out.
The Danish fi fth seed, blew her chance to make the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to 20th seed Muguruza.
Wozniacki, who has been the world No 1 despite never having won a Grand Slam, was the only top 12 player left in the bottom half of the draw.
Muguruza will face Bacsinszky for a place in the semifinals.
The Swiss 15th seed, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open, recovered from a terrible start to beat world number 48 Monica Niculescu of Romania 1-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Polish 13th seed Radwanska booked her spot in the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Serbian 28th seed Jelena Jankovic.
Former world number one Jankovic had knocked out defending champion Petra Kvitova in the third round.
Radwanska faces 21st seed Keys in the quarterfinals. –