Williams Fights Back To Beat Azarenka
Published on July 8 2015 6:26 am
Last Updated on July 8 2015 6:27 am
Serena Williams' latest Grand Slam match against Victoria Azarenka ended the same way as the previous nine -- with Williams walking off as the winner.
The top-ranked Williams fought back from a set down Tuesday to beat Azarenka 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Centre Court to reach the Wimbledon semifinals and keep her bid alive for a fourth straight major title -- a "Serena Slam."
Williams is two wins away from winning her fourth consecutive major tournament, which would match the non-calendar Slam she last achieved in 2002-03. A victory in the US Open would then be left to complete a true Grand Slam, which hasn't been accomplished since Steffi Graf won all four in the same year in 1988.
Coming up with big serves when she needed them and getting stronger as the match wore on, Williams put on a dominant performance in the final two sets, winning seven straight games at one stretch, to run her Grand Slam winning streak to 26 matches.
Williams hit 17 aces, including three in each of her final two service games, to extend her career record against Azarenka to 17-3 -- including 10-0 in Grand Slam play.
Novak Djokovic survived a one-set shootout with big-serving Kevin Anderson on Tuesday to advance to the quarterfinals and keep up his bid for a third Wimbledon title.
The top-ranked Djokovic beat the 14th-seeded South African 7-5 in the fifth set on Court 1 to complete a match that had been suspended by darkness Monday at two sets apiece.
It took 45 minutes of play Tuesday for Djokovic to advance to his 25th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 6-7 (6), 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 victory. He will next face Croatia's Marin Cilic, a player he has beaten in all 12 of their previous matches.
