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Serena Blasts Through To Round Of 16 At U.S. Open
posted 09/04/09
3:35 pm
The second-seeded Williams, who has already captured the titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, notched a 6-3, 7-5 triumph over Martinez Sanchez on Friday at the USTA National Tennis Center.
Williams, also the defending Open champ and a three-time winner at Flushing Meadows, has yet to drop a set this week. However, she was pushed a bit in the second set on Friday.
Martinez Sanchez was serving at 5-5, but a pair of double-faults gave Williams a break and she held at love to finish the match. It was a rematch of a somewhat contentious third-round tilt at the French Open, when Williams accused Martinez Sanchez of cheating when the American said a ball went off the Spaniard's arm and she did not acknowledge it. Williams went on to win that match in three sets. There was a cordial handshake after Friday's match.
Next up for Williams is Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, who breezed past American Vania King, 6-2, 6-2, on Friday.
Italy's Flavia Pennetta could be a quarterfinal foe for Williams. The 10th seed continued her strong play this summer with a 6-1, 6-1 rout of Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak on Friday.
Pennetta, a two-time winner and three-time semifinalist since Wimbledon, needed just 52 minutes to polish off Wozniak and was coming off a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Sania Mirza in the second round. She was also a 6-0, 6-4 winner against Edina Gallovits in her first match at Flushing Meadows.
Before Pennetta can think about Williams, though, she will play a fourth-round match against either seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva or Elena Vesnina.
Still scheduled for play later today are former champions Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters. The third-seeded Venus, a two-time Open champ and two-time runner-up, opens the night session at Ashe Stadium against Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova. Clijsters, the 2005 champ, will meet fellow Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.
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