World No. 1 Serena Williams rolled into the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup on Friday with a clinical 6-4, 6-3 win over Italy’s Roberta Vinci, setting up an intriguing showdown with Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic.
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Williams, a 21-time Grand Slam victor, suffered just her second loss of 2015 to the 18-year-old Bencic as the oldest and youngest players in the singles draw met in a tense two hour, 28 minute thriller.
Williams, 33, has won four tournaments this season – including three Grand Slams – and appeared to be in form over her first three victories this week.
Simona Halep defeated Sara Errani 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday afternoon to advance to the women’s final at the Rogers Cup.
“This is why I worked for 15 years”, said Bencic, who was joined by her father, Ivan, in the interview room after the match.
In the grand scheme of things, every match Williams plays between now and her first outing at the upcoming US Open is a dress rehearsal, a dry run of the sort neither Williams nor any other male or female player has experienced since Steffi Graf in 1988.
“I did everything I could to finish in two sets because in the third one I don’t know what would happen”. The Romanian second seed Halep will play for her 12th career title and fourth of the year. “I played like an amateur, to be honest”.
But Halep battled to 3-3 in the second set and then seized command, winning eight games in a row to reach the brink of victory.
“I still think I have a tremendous amount of improvement to do off the ground and everywhere else, though”, she shared in the report.
“I’m not thinking about the title right now”, said Bencic.
The world number one claimed the Canadian title in 2001, 2011 and 2013, and is now well on course to lift the trophy for a fourth time after a 6-4 6-3 success over the Italian.
The win brings Halep to her 300 career match win and when asked about her most memorable triumph so far?
“I felt pretty much in control until I lost the match”. “I saw that she’s not very tall”. She raced to a 5-1 lead, but Williams picked up two breaks – sealing the second one on a double fault – to get back on serve.
“I want more”, she said.
“But I’m in the final and everything that comes is going to be a bonus”.
“I just kept focused on what I had to do and just tried to keep the ball in the court to make some longer rallies”.
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Top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Sania Mirza of India advanced with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Hao-Chang Chan and Yung-Jan Chan of Taiwan.
