Serena Williams’s 6–4, 6–3 win over No. 10 seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy on Tuesday night has set up a U.S. Open women’s semifinal that many have been hoping for.
Williams—the defending U.S. Open champion and this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon champion—is now poised to face Belgium’s comeback queen Kim Cljisters on Thursday at Flushing Meadows.
Clijsters also won in straight sets 6–2, 6–4 against China’s Na Li earlier in the day and has had a phenomenal tournament so far.
She ousted the No. 3 seed Venus Williams on Sunday and is showing no signs of weakness in her first grand slam after taking time off to start a family. Clijsters is the 2005 U.S. Open champion.
Serena Holds Momentum
Williams’s hard-fought win against Pennetta included seven aces. Her fastest serve was clocked at 118 mph although she actually missed long with a 126 mph blast. She hit 22 winners to Pennetta’s nine.
The No. 10 ranked Pennetta didn’t give up easily despite what the score might say. The match included some excellent volleys and several rallies that kept the No. 2 seed on the edge all match.
The match opened with very few points won by the returner. That seemed to have Williams a bit unnerved. But she held her composure and finally wore down Pennetta to take the first set.
Williams dominated the second set with her powerful forehand. She is now 23–1 this season in grand slam singles matches.
“She never gives up, is such a great player, and never gave up tonight,” Williams said of the tenacious Pennetta following the match.
Marquee Match-Up
Clijsters now stands in Williams’s way on Thursday after downing her older sister on Sunday. If Clijsters can get past Serena and Venus Williams and go on to win the title, it will go down as one of the best storylines at the U.S. Open in a long time.
“Initially I was [surprised with her comeback] but a couple of weeks ago I knew she was someone to watch out for,” Williams said of Clijsters.
Clijsters doesn’t have a ranking and needed a wildcard to play in the tournament.
“I’ve been training like a professional, with my mindset to coming back as a full professional. I’m going to see after the U.S. Open how that whole trip went and just see which things I have to adjust,” Clijsters said.
Murray Removed
Andy Murray’s disappointing loss to No. 16 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia 7–5, 6–2, 6–2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday is one of the biggest upsets at this year’s tournament.
Murray was clearly in pain at the end of the first set with a left wrist injury that was worsening over the week. The injury hindered Murray’s backhand and proved frustrating. Murray grimaced in pain and had yelled in frustration at many points in the match.
Murray’s play was largely uninspired. He returned only 64 percent of Cilic’s serves and had only 13 winners to Cilic’s 35.
Cilic on the other hand had a near perfect match with 10 aces and he’ll make his first quarterfinal appearance in a major.
“Regardless of my wrist, I lost the match,” Murray said in his post-match interview. “I returned poorly. He served well, and that was really the difference.
“Today I could have been better in pretty much every part of the game, whether it was mental or serve, forehand, [or] backhand returns. I just struggled today. I played poorly.”
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