Advertisement

Serena to the semis, facing Sharapova next at Wimbledon

Serena Williams celebrates winning her singles match against Victoria Azarenka. (AP)
Serena Williams celebrates winning her singles match against Victoria Azarenka. (AP)

Serena Williams is now two wins shy of her 21st Grand Slam title. It took another come-from-behind victory to get there, the latest in a series of comebacks that have left some wondering whether Williams just prefers the added pressure of a third set. It’s doubtful that she’s purposefully playing herself into these situations, but it’s certainly making this Wimbledon run more interesting.

Her latest comeback victory came against No. 24 Victoria Azarenka, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. The final score doesn’t show just how close Azarenka seemed to pulling off the upset. The two-time Grand Slam champion earned a crucial break early in the match en route to easily claiming the first set.

Different from earlier matches in this fortnight, falling behind was never a matter of Williams playing poorly. Rather, 25-year-old Azarenka was at her peak: Williams had hit 22 winners and only committed five unforced errors through 2-2 in the second set, yet she trailed. It mirrored the three-set showdown Williams and Azarenka played earlier this year at the French Open; there’s a reason Azarenka is one of only two women to beat Williams multiple times in recent years.

The turning point came when Azarenka failed to convert a break point opportunity at 2-2 in the second, allowing Williams to build a 3-2 lead. Then Williams, who had failed to convert four break points so far in the match, finally converted her first break to build the 4-2 lead and eventually win the set.

Carrying the momentum into the third set, Williams reminded Azarenka of something many talented women have learned this year: there is a tremendous difference between almost beating Serena Williams and actually beating Serena Williams.

Williams managed to earn the only break in the third and decisive set – and the win.

This was the 10th time Azarenka and Williams have met in a major, and the 10th time Williams wound up the victor.

To advance to the final, Williams will have to defeat No. 4 Maria Sharapova next, a rematch of this year’s Australian Open final. Sharapova advanced earlier Tuesday, defeating American CoCo Vandeweghe, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2.

In facing WIlliams, Sharapova will have to step up her game considerably. The Russian star has not beaten the 20-time Grand Slam champion in more than a decade. Williams defeated her in straight sets in this year’s Australian Open final; they last met on grass in the gold-medal match at the 2012 Olympic Games, where Williams also won in straight sets.

Don’t count her out completely – Sharapova beat Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon championship – but Williams definitely holds the advantage.

“It’s been up and down, up and down, but somehow I’m still alive, I don’t know how,” Williams said after her match. “We’ll see what happens.”

“It’s been awhile [since she’s beat me], but she’s been playing really well,” she said of Sharapova. “I don’t have anything to lose. I’m just going in there and if I don’t [win] there’s always next time.”

As the BBC reporter began to mention the calendar-year slam, Williams quickly cut him off. “No slam, none of that,” she said with a wry smile.

Sharapova was playing in the quarterfinals at the All England Club for the first time in four years; for Vandeweghe, it was a Grand Slam first. The 23-year-old had advanced to this stage with a stunning victory over No. 6 Lucie Safarova on Monday. She had earlier knocked out No. 11 Karolina Pliskova and No. 22 Samantha Stosur.

She proved that she belongs here, but in the end the veteran was too much for the newcomer. After a routine first set, Sharapova was serving for the win at 5-3 in the second set. Vandeweghe earned the break and battled all the way back to win a second-set tie-break.

Trailing 0-3 in the third set, Vandeweghe again stormed back, relying on the power of her serve. When the American earned the break to cut Sharapova’s lead to 3-2, she raised both hands over her head, motioning for the crowd to get fired up.

It was an exciting moment for Vandeweghe, but the momentum quickly dissipated as she double-faulted and committed two forehand errors in the following game, giving Sharapova the break and the 4-2 advantage. That was enough for Sharapova to close out the match, staying on serve and earning another break to advance to the semifinals.

On the other half of the draw, No. 20 Garbine Muguruza of Spain defeated No. 15 Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland, 7-5, 6-3, to advance to her first Grand Slam semifinal. Playing in her third Wimbledon, this is the first time Muguruza, 21, has advanced beyond the second round at the All England Club.

Muguruza will face No. 13 Agnieszka Radwanska, who defeated 20-year-old American Madison Keys in three sets. No. 21 Keys led by an early break in the first set before Radwanska battled back to take a first-set tiebreak. Keys forced a deciding third set, but the more experienced Radwanska closed out the 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 win.