Williams, a seven-times grand slam singles victor and twice US Open champion, has enjoyed some recent success, reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon and the final at Stanford.
Advertisement
She made her first major final here a year ago at age 32, stunning Serena Williams in the semis to thwart the American’s Grand Slam bid.
Williams’ 6-2, 6-1 win over 47th-ranked Johanna Larsson of Sweden improved her major-tournament mark to 307-42, putting her one win up on Martina Navratilova among women and tying Roger Federer among all players in the Open era.
A U.S. Open victory would give Williams 23 Grand Slam victories and break the tie she is in with Steffi Graf to give her the most in the Open era.
Babos put a scare into Romanian fifth seed Halep, surging back in the second set and taking a 3-1 lead in the third before falling 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.
Williams next plays 52nd-ranked Yaroslava Shvedova; her first seeded opponent would then come in the quarterfinals against either No. 5 Simona Halep, against whom she is 7-1, or No. 11 Carla Suarez Navarro, whom she has beaten in all six tries. Now Williams can eclipse it with four more wins here, 12 months after leaving here disappointed in the semi-finals after missing out on a calendar grand slam.
“It is actually a really good feeling”, she said on Saturday.
The 34-year-old has looked good so far in this year’s Open. When Venus is in that kind of form, she really is unstoppable.
Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open victor, has been playing some of the best tennis of his career of late.
“I was really excited to reach 307”, Williams said. “I think that’s what matters most for me”.
It’s been 15 years since Venus won her last US Open, but the No. 6 seed sailed into the fourth round with little effort.
The seventh-seeded Italian topped 99th-ranked Lesia Tsurenko 7-6 (5), 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows for the fourth time in five years. Williams was asked about her neon pink sleeves on the court and again later in the interview room.
Serena’s sister Venus, seeded sixth, advanced comfortably by beating No. 26 Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-2.
Radwanska, who had been extended to three sets in three of her four matches against 25th seed Garcia, romped into the round of 16 with a 6-2 6-3 victory in breezy conditions at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
This year Williams has been unusually low key, making her way into the fourth round with minimum fuss having yet to drop a set, conserving energy for the second week where the real tournament begins for the world number one.
“That means everything”, Radwanska said of a chance to advance to the round of 16 in Flushing Meadows for the first time in her career.
“I still can not believe it”, she said.
Advertisement
Juan Martin del Potro, whose career was almost derailed by injuries after his 2009 US Open triumph, fired 37 winners in a 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-3 victory over Spanish 11th seed David Ferrer.
