“She’s a great defender and a great girl”. Zhang will play Johanna Konta, who had a 4-6, 6-4, 8-6 win over 2015 semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova and became the first British woman since Jo Durie in 1983 to advance to the quarterfinals in Australia.
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Williams began to dominate proceedings with her power starting to prove too much for her opponent, and she claimed the first set 6-4.
“When I play her, I know automatically I have to step up my game”, said Williams, a 21-time major victor. “It’s not necessarily anyone in particular”.
Williams went on a five-game roll until Sharapova held in the second set, and then finished it off in the seventh game after saving break points. “I didn’t think I would have done as well as I have”, she told reporters. But Williams held in the third game and broke to quickly level at 2-2.
Williams called for the trainer at the break, presumably because of illness. I was aggressive, had variety in there.
The second set was vintage Williams. Against Williams, she had three aces and seven double-faults. She was broken four times. I won against a top-10 player in straight sets.
What will it take for Maria Sharapova to beat Serena Williams? “She was really explosive off the return”. She cuts the ball early. She then addressed the crowd: “Thank you guys for coming out; I hear you all, and it means a lot to me!” Thought at times, when I got in the rally I wasn’t moving forward, wasn’t cutting the angles off enough.
She was able to protect her own serve, and go on the attack against Sharapova’s. She said she had an upset stomach. “I knew it was going to be tough”. She’s very consistent, as well. “Just tried to be focused”. Her meeting with Giorgi is also the only time that she was out on the court for more than an hour.
In the sixth game, Suarez Navarro held after six deuces to make it 3-3.
As hot as she has been, Radwanska is fortunate to still be alive in Melbourne. She said she has been recovering from food poisoning for a few days. “The second week of Grand Slams, it doesn’t matter who you are playing”.
Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska enters this match playing some of the best tennis of her career.
It wasn’t that long ago that she was all but forgotten. That she qualified at all was unbelievable, considering that after the US Open, Radwanska was three spots out of the final spot.
The Pole added that the experience she gained from making the Wimbledon final in 2012, along with three other major semis, would be crucial.
When it was put to her that there is clearly a big gap between her and Sharapova, Williams said: “There is”.
Williams has now 14 consecutive sets in their matches. The American said despite having won the previous 17 matches against Sharapova, the 18th straight win was full of fight, and the scoreline wasn’t indicative of the struggle on court.
Last year, Williams won here to kick-start a run to an nearly calendar-year Slam. Djokovic is 5-2 all-time against Nishikori and is seeking his fourth semifinal appearance in five years at the Aussie Open.
Federer is the oldest man since 1979 to reach the Australian Open semifinals. She got herself back in the points.
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Meanwhile, Djokovic is seeking his 11th Grand Slam title while Federer, 34, is looking to extend his record tally to 18 – and both will want to take charge of their head-to-head, which is locked at 22-22.
