Another ominous fact facing the Pole is that every time Williams has got past the quarter-finals in Melbourne, she has gone on to win the tournament.
Advertisement
Serena Williams of the United States celebrates after defeating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016.
With the roof on Rod Laver Arena closed because of a thunderstorm closing in, the most obvious noise in the first set was the chirping of trapped birds who’d taken shelter in the stadium.
Serena’s lull didn’t last long as she broke Radwanska late to win the match 6-0, 6-4 to reach her 26th career Grand Slam final. “I was just standing there kind of watching her playing”, said Radwanska, calling the first set the best anyone had ever played against her. It blows my mind right now. “She makes you go back to the drawing board, not just for me, but for many other players”, she said.
“I think she started unbelievable, with such a power and speed. I just saw that”, Kerber said in her post-match press conference. “But I didn’t think I’d be doing so much, so fast; so thank you so much for all of your support”, Williams added, addressing the crowd and her fanbase, known as “Rena’s Army”.
The world No 1 took time out of the game after failing to complete a calendar Grand Slam in NY with a knee injury which also hindered her at the Hopman Cup earlier this month.
“I definitely block it out”, Williams said after her semi-final victory.
“Obviously I wanted to stay around, so I just had to start really, really focused and really, really ready”. I had my little chance in second set, especially when it was 4-all.
“I will go out there, try to enjoy my first final, try to beat Serena”, she said.
Serena is now just one win from a 7th Australian Open title and more importantly, a 22nd career Grand Slam which would tie her with Steffi Graf for most in the Open Era.
A win in Saturday’s decider against seventh seed Angelique Kerber would see her match Graf’s mark that has stood since the German great’s last major win at the French Open in 1999.
“When I play her, I know automatically I have to step up my game”, Williams said.
“I have nothing to lose and it does not matter who I play”.
Kerber actually hit with Graf past year in Las Vegas where Graf lives with her husband, four-time Australian Open champion Andre Agassi.
Her reward is a clash with Johanna Konta, the first British woman to qualify for a Grand Slam semi-final for 33 years.
The statistics echoed Williams’ athleticism on-court; Radwanska did not hit a single ace during the match, with all of Williams’ eight coming in the second set. “Surely. I think in these situations, I think people become skeptical when it’s sort of kept in-house”.
Advertisement
After 64 minutes, Williams won her way into a seventh Australian Open final with a 6-0 6-4 victory. Despite her momentous win against Sharapova again, she has nothing but good things to say about her opponent.
