Serena Williams capitalised on a rain delay midway through her match to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 6-0, in the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships.
Taking to Centre Court for their tenth meeting on the tour, both players were erratic with their shot-making during the opening games of the match. First, it was Kuznetsova’s nerves that allowed Williams to generate an early break for 3-1. Then the world No.1 squandered the advantage due to her troublesome second serve, as well as her opponents mighty fighting spirit. This was a pattern that dominated the majority of the opening set.
The roller coaster start was costly for a highly emotional Williams. Facing a break point, an unfortunate slip allowed Kuznetsova to break for 5-4 and serve for the first set. Continuing the trend of inconsistency, Williams aided by the use of her power, grabbed the fourth break of the match to level 5-5.
Besides the lacklustre performance, there was another troubling issue for the 21-time grand slam champion, the British weather. As some light rain fell, play was halted due to the court becoming slippery. Both players agreed that the surface was unsafe and an unfortunate incident with a ball ball supported their point.
Ball boy takes a tumble. Proof that the grass is slippery. pic.twitter.com/P4NhLEfcUQ
— DMA (@TennisMajesty) 4 July 2016
Resuming play under the protection of the roof, the break did wonders to Williams’ mentality on the court. After failing to convert her first set point, Williams triumphed with her second when a return that painted the baseline was unsuccessfully returned by Kuznetsova.
The indoor conditions enhanced Williams’ game with the balls travelling faster around the court. Increasing the intensity in her shots, Kuznetsova had no answer to her the power of the world No.1 at the start of the second set. This trend continued with the aggressive play of the 34-year-old overpowering the former US Open champion, who was showing signs of tiredness from her two-and-a-half-hour encounter yesterday. The outstanding one-sided second set display by the world No.1 was completed when a Kutznetsova forehand sailed outside of the court.
Williams’ flawless end to the match is illustrated best by the statistics. A total of 43 winners came from the top seed, over five-times more than Kuznetsova’s eight. In addition, she also produced 14 aces and converted 6/10 break points.
“It was a really good win, she has played really well against me in the past.” The world No.1 said.
“She beat me earlier this year, so I know that I had to play really well to win.”
Playing in her 12th Wimbledon quarter-final tomorrow, Williams will be playing three consecutive days on the grass, a task that doesn’t bother her.
“Usually in order to win a tournament you usually have to play quarters, semifinals and final back-to-back-to-back,” Williams said.
“So that’s how I think about it. I keep thinking Serena you have done this 70/80 times and that’s how I am approaching it.”
In Tuesday’s quarter-final, Williams will play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a player she has defeated five times before.
