It was one of the most anticipated matches of the day, but in the end it proved to be one of the most one-sided ones. Defending champion Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova 6-4 6-1 in the quarerfinals of the 2016 Australian Open on Tuesday to book her spot in the final four of the competition.
The first set saw Sharapova break Williams in the opening game and then hold her own serve to take a 2-0 lead. However, Williams then showed her the power of her resolve, fighting back to level the scores at 4-4.
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The next game saw the Russian push Serena onto the backfoot, as she pressed for the break, but the American held on after saving two break points.
The final game of the set saw Williams put a lot of pressure on Sharapova for the break, eventually converting her 4th break point in the game to take the set 6-4.
The 2nd set saw Serena show exactly why she is considered to be the best female tennis player of all time. She put on an exemplary exhibition of shot-making and aggressive tennis, backing Sharapova down and making her chances count.
Williams took a 5-0 lead before the Russian was able to win a game, with the world no. 1 taking the set and the match 6-4, 6-1.
The Sharapova serve, which was at its most consistent best in this tournament, having served 52 aces before today, was at fault a lot today. She could only serve 3 aces and was broken 4 times during the match, which proved to be the difference.
This was Williams and Sharapova’s 21st meeting across all competitions and the former’s 19th win over the latter. The American will play Agniezska Radwanska in the semifinal.
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