Williams breezes to lopsided win
No. 3 Federer appears to battle medical issues in 5-set loss to No. 78
NEW YORK» The numbers associated with Serena Williams’ U.S. Open quarterfinal victory over Wang Qiang were so stark , they bear reading more than once.
Winners: 25-0. Points: 50-15. Minutes: 44. Score: 6-1, 6-0.
This is the portion of the tournament that is supposed to be where winning a Grand Slam title gets difficult, where the remaining players are among the very best opposition around. And yet there was Williams in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night, making one of the last eight women in the draw, someone ranked No. 18 in a world of billions, look and feel completely overwhelmed.
“Didn’t give her too many chances,” Williams said.
A reporter wanted to know what surprised Wang the most about being across the net from Williams for the first time.
“Power,” came the answer.
The way she hit groundstrokes from the baseline? The way she served? “Everything,” Wang said with a smile. Looking as dominant as can be as she moved closer to a 24th Grand Slam singles trophy and seventh U.S. Open championship, Williams was not troubled one bit by the right ankle she rolled in her previous match.
“Physically, I’m feeling great,” Williams said, “and more than anything, I’m having fun every time I come out here.”
Against Wang, who was making her debut in a major quarterfinal, Williams grabbed the first five games in about 15 minutes. Then, after dropping one game, Williams collected the next 11 points to start a seven-game run the rest of the way.
She controlled pretty much every point, pretty much from the start, regardless of whether she was serving or returning. She hit the ball hard, well and true, pushing Wang around and rarely letting get into position for a proper reply. Williams was so dialed in, there weren’t all that many occasions to test her ankle, but on those rare instances when she did need to run, she appeared to be more than OK.
That’s a big reason that Wang could not manage even one winner.
“Yeah, that’s a good stat for me. It’s good because I want to be able to move around the court. I move when I want to move,” Williams said. “I guess I wanted to move tonight.”
Roger Federer gave away a lead against a guy he’d never lost to and was beaten 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 by 78th-ranked Grigor Dimitrov in the U.S. Open quarterfinals before a stunned crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 38-year-old Federer took a rare-for-him medical timeout after the fourth set, leaving the court with a trainer. It was not immediately clear what might have been wrong with Federer, although he did appear to be flexing his back after some points.
When play resumed after a break of nearly 10 minutes, Federer’s form never picked up. He finished with 61 unforced errors.
Federer had been 7-0 against Dimitrov, taking 16 of their previous 18 sets.
Williams will face No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine for a berth in the final. Svitolina eliminated 16th-seeded Johanna Konta of Britain 6-4, 6-4 earlier Tuesday.
With her boyfriend, Gael Monfils, watching in the stands, Svitolina got to the semifinals at a second consecutive major tournament after never having been that far before.
“Now,” Svitolina joked about Monfils, “he needs to step up his game.”
Monfils, who is seeded No. 13, plays No. 24 Matteo Berrettini in one of the men’s quarterfinals Wednesday, when Rafael Nadal meets No. 20 Diego Schwartzman in the other.