An emotional Serena Williams overcame a sluggish performance to battle past Yulia Putintseva 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
Producing five consecutive straight-set wins in Roland Garros, the top seed was expected to have an easy encounter against the inexperienced 21-year-old. Putintseva is yet to win a WTA title and has only defeated one top-10 player in her career (Andrea Petkovic via retirement, Nürnberg 2015). Nevertheless, the quarter-final encounter was far from straightforward as Williams struggled with her game.
During a rain interrupted opening set, the defending champion failed to maintain her consistency against an inspired Putintseva. The world No.1 had a 40-0 lead to move ahead 6-5 before the Kazakh staged a shock comeback to break for a chance to serve the set out. Putintseva sealed the match when a Williams backhand landed outside the court. During her error-stricken set, Williams produced 24 unforced errors compared to her opponents two. The poor display equated to 66% of the points won by Putintseva during the opening set.
Upset alert?
Yulia Putintseva wins first set v Serena Williams… then breaks in the second! #RG16 https://t.co/Catd6PhFHT
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) 2 June 2016
The Williams comeback seemed destined to happen once against after she grabbed back-to-back breaks for a 4-1 lead in the second set. Usually this kind of lead would have been enough to secure the set for the top seed, however, her erratic play and sluggish footwork continued, allowing the underdog to level at 4-4. Putintseva had two chances to break and serve for the match but failed to convert as Williams continued battling to move ahead. The relief of Williams was evident, at she raised both of her hands to thank god. On the verge of tears, Williams raced to two set points against her opponent’s serve. She failed to convert her first after a 23-shot rally ended with a superb drop shot from the world No.60. The defending champion was eventually given the set after a putintseva double fault.
Clawing her way back into the match, Williams used her power to apply further pressure on Putintseva’s serve as she broke with ease for 2-0. Finally the favourite was in control of the match as she produced a backhand drop-shot to extend the lead to 3-0. The prospect of a Williams upset rapidly disappeared after a lengthy rally ended with an error from the 21-year-old, gifting the top seed the double break. Avoiding disaster, Williams booked her place in the last four with a deep serve down the line.
Following her roller-coaster performance, consisting of 43 unforced errors and 36 winners, Williams candidly admitted that she was unsure if she was going to be able to pull off the win.
“She played unbelievable and I honestly didn’t think I was going to win the second set. Somehow I did and I’m really excited.” She said on court.
Two days from loss – typically I don’t count I just had no idea but that’s great.
Moving to just two wins away from equalling Steffi Graf’s record of 22 grand slam titles, Williams have improved her French Open winning record to 59-11. She will play her fifth French Open semi-final against Kiki Bertens.
