Maria Sharapova will meet bogeywoman Serena Williams for the 21st time, in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
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Bencic, meanwhile, departs before the second week of the first grand slam of the year but the 18-year-old proved her potential on Rod Laver Arena.
Maria Sharapova served up a storm to slap down teenage firebrand Belinda Bencic 7-5 7-5 and become the first woman through to the Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday.
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“I played her in the first round of Wimbledon”, Williams reminded Rennae Stubbs during her on-court interview when asked whether she’d played Gasparyan before.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Serena Williams is convinced that a loss makes her a better player.
Ivanovic’s match against Madison Keys was halted for about an hour on Saturday night while medics attended to Sears in the stands.
Roberta Vinci, who ended Serena Williams’ bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015 with a shocking semifinal win at the U.S. Open, lost 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Anna-Lena Friedsam. “I really have nothing to lose”. Watched courtside by compatriot Hingis, who is playing doubles in Melbourne, Bencic was ultimately undone by Sharapova’s booming serve, with 21 aces fired past her. She admitted it was part of her game that needed work.
Almost the entire match was played from the baseline, with each player approaching just eight times.
World number one Williams thrashed Margarita Gasparyan 6-2 6-1 on Sunday to set up a rematch of last year’s final in Melbourne.
Bencic laughed and said she was only joking.
The Russian will need a serving performance like she had in the Round of 16 against Bencic if she’s going to push Serena and threaten to snap Williams’ 11-match win streak at the Australian Open.
While her progress through the tournament has been relatively comfortable, Williams said she had another massively motivating factor that could help her up her game on Tuesday.
It was this intense pressure from the youngster that had Sharapova on the back foot at many crucial moments – she was only able to convert 4/16 break points for the match.
Williams has won every game against Sharapova since 2004, including last year’s final at Melbourne Park.
In an up and down opening set, the four-times finalist and 2008 champion was broken four times but managed to keep Bencic in check and break her to take the set.
The 34-year-old had schooled another Russian, Daria Kasatkina, in the previous round, crushing her in just 44 minutes, and handed the same lesson to the 58th-ranked player in the world.
“That’s going to be a tough one”.
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He’ll next play 2008 Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat fellow Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4).
