Maria Sharapova said she was inspired as well as frustrated after losing to Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Tuesday, a defeat which extended her losing streak against the American to 12 years and 18 matches.
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“It was super intense, she’s an incredibly intense, focused player, she’s won so many grand slams for a reason”, Williams said.
The World No. 1 will face No. 4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the semis.
The 34-year-old Federer used a full array of shots, including some vintage backhands, in his 48 winners to avenge losses to Berdych at Wimbledon in 2010 and the 2012 U.S. Open.
Meanwhile, in the men’s section, Milos Raonic held his nerve despite a spirited comeback by fourth seed and 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka on Monday.
Four-time champion Federer capped the afternoon session with a 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 6 Tomas Berdych, reaching his 12th Australian Open semifinal and his 39th in a Grand Slam.
Chris McKendry, Jason Goodall and Mary Joe Fernandez break down why Serena Williams is so dominant over Maria Sharapova.
The world number five, however, had her chances here, most notably with two break points at the end of the first set, but Williams delivered when it mattered most and it was one-way traffic thereafter.
Williams said she wasn’t aware that she had won the Australian Open all six previous times she won her quarterfinal match, “but that’s good”. Williams had 13 aces, three double-faults, hit 31 winners to 11, and broke Sharapova’s serve four times. “She was really explosive off the return”.
Sharapova struck a career-high 21 aces Sunday against Belinda Bencic when rain forced their encounter to be played indoors, but Mouratoglou doubted she could do it again.
Sharapova came into the tournament light on match practice after injuring her left forearm and said getting that treated would be her main priority on her return home.
But Williams held in the third game, closing with an ace after it went to deuce, and then broke to level at 2-2. “It doesn’t matter who I’m playing, I just try to go out there and play the best I can”.
Radwanska is yet to lose in 2016, but Williams has won the tournament every time she has reached the semifinals in Melbourne. Then Serena must have suddenly remembered that despite her record against Sharapova, she still has to actually play well. She makes you go back to the drawing board, not just for me, but for many other players. Despite more than 11 years in between, Sharapova isn’t giving up hope of breaking that drought.
“It’s motivating because she’s at a different level”.
While one high-profile rivalry produced a victor, another much anticipated matchup takes place Thursday when Novak Djokovic confronts Roger Federer after both won in straight sets in the men’s quarterfinals. She broke back to make it level-pegging at 2-2 as the Russian’s serve faltered.
“I just knew after the first set that I wanted to start playing the way I have been, that got me to the quarterfinals, so I was just trying to do that”. “This is one of the few stadiums where I feel so welcome”.
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It was a typically tight first set against her long-time rival but she finally came through after a brutal 55 minutes.
