Australian Open hit: "Dramatic" Serena against Comeback Halep
Serena Williams continues her attempt to win the 24th Grand Slam title of her career in a cracking match at the Australian Open on Tuesday. In the night session, she has to deal with Simona Halep.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Feb 15, 2021, 06:08 pm
39-year-old Williams is one of three Americans who made it to the quarterfinals in Melbourne Park. Since Jennifer Brady (looked after by the German Michael Geserer) meets Jessica Pegula , it is already clear that a woman from the USA will make it to the semifinals.
Williams' match against Halep will be the twelfth encounter between the two Grand Slam winners. The Romanian has so far triumphed twice in majors and is 2-9 behind in the direct duel. But she decided the last match between the two of them: In the final of Wimbledon 2019. “That was one of my best matches,” said Halep, “and the best day of my life. I felt very safe, felt every ball. But mentally, I'm not that far away from this day. "
Serena Williams is one of the title favorites
Williams hardly had any problems in her first three laps, but was then challenged by Aryna Sabalenka. She finally decided the round of 16 with 6: 4 in the third set. During the match, she had to have her right ankle taped because she fell. "It actually didn't hurt at all," said Williams. "I didn't twist my head, that was good. I was just a little too dramatic," she said with a dose of self-humor.
It is her 13th quarter-finals at the Australian Open. She won the title seven times in Melbourne, she has 91 wins in 103 games at the tournament - both highs in the Open Era. Williams has lost four Grand Slam finals so far after returning to the tour as a mother in 2018.
"There's a lot of depth, a lot of players could win the title," said Williams after her win over Sabalenka. "It's good to see. And it's even better that I'm one of the contenders."
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Simona Halep: "Serena is a legend"
So far Halep has fared very differently. She struggled with the defeat against Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round, but turned a 2: 5 in the third set with five games in a row to win the match. French Open winner Iga Swiatek was waiting in the round of 16, against her Halep made up for a set deficit. It was her 100th victory in a Grand Slam tournament, and the former world number one has now been in the top 10 for 348 consecutive weeks.
"She's the only one with 23 Grand Slams, so you can't compare Serena with any of us. She's a legend," Halep said before the quarter-finals. "But if I go on the field, she's just another opponent. I'll stick with myself and try everything to win this match."
Naomi Osaka starts the quarter-finals on Tuesday with her match against the 35-year-old, unorthodox playing Su-wei Hsieh from Taiwan, who is playing her first slam quarter-finals.
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