Serena Williams has cruised to her 15th Wimbledon fourth round following a 6-3, 6-0, win over Germany’s Annika beck.
The 21-time grand slam champion started her encounter in an erratic style by producing a series of unforced errors that allowed Beck to grab the first break of the match. Recovering from her sluggish start, Williams reminded her opponent of why she is the best player in the world by winning five out of the next six games. Despite claiming the opening set, there were still issues for the top seed to tackle. In the first set she produced 14 unforced errors and won only 38% of her second service points.
Williams was clearly shy of her best tennis, but it didn’t stop her from dominating an error-stricken Beck in the second set. Within 15 minutes, the top seed dropped only three points on her way to racing to a set and 4-0 lead. The Williams surge continued when a blistering forehand cross-court winner gifted her another break to move to a game away from victory. There was no danger of a shock Beck comeback as Williams close the last set out to love without losing a single point on her serve.
The convincing win has rewarded Williams with her 300th grand slam win. Only former world No.1 Martina Navratilova has won won more major matches than the 34-year-old (306). In her 300th win, the defending champion produced seven aces, 25 winners and 14 unforced errors. In regards to the errors, she committed none in the second set.
“I thought it was good,” she said about her third round performance.
“I still wanted to get off to a faster start, but I was really focused and calm today.”
There isn’t much that Williams hasn’t done at Wimbledon after winning titles in the singles, ladies doubles and mixed doubles. On the other hand, this year was the first time that she has played on a Sunday at SW19.
“It was nice (playing on Sunday), obviously I like having the middle Sunday off, but I was a little behind in my matches so I guess I had to play an extra day.” The world No.1 said.
Her dismissal of Beck moves Williams to just four wins away from equalling Stefi Graf’s record of 22 grand slam titles.
In the next round, the world No.1 will play Svetlana Kuznetsova. The Russian needed over two-and-a-half hours to defeat Sloane Stephens 6-7(1), 6-2, 8-6. Kuznetsova was trailing 2-5 in the final set before battling back in the Sunday thriller.
Williams has already played Kuznetsova twice this year in two very different matches. At the Miami Open she lost in three sets. Then at the Rome Open, the world No.1 got revenge by crushing the Russian 6-2, 6-0. Overall, Williams leads their head-to-head 9-3.
