Serena Williams may have almost forgotten to take her racquets on court but once inside Pat Rafter Arena – with her gear safely slung over her shoulder – the world No.1 didn’t need any reminder of how to win.
“I was just ready to get on this court, ready to play. I was just ready to get it started. I don’t know. I just forget ’em. Maybe I wasn’t so ready as I thought,” said Williams about her pre-match gaffe.
Standing in the way of Williams and a semifinal with former No.1 and regular rival Maria Sharapova was ninth seed Dominika Cibulkova who had never beaten Williams in their three previous meetings.
And that hasn’t changed. Williams was never in doubt today, dispatching Cibulkova 6-3 6-3 to set up a much-anticipated semifinal clash with tournament third seed Maria Sharapova.
Twelve aces and winning 88 per cent of first serves made it almost impossible for Cibulkova to make any real headway in the match.
An extremely stingy Williams offered up just one break point opportunity, which she quickly snatched back, while breaking the Cibulkova serve three times on her way to victory.
After the match Williams praised Cibulkova’s powerful return game.
“She stays so low to the ground and does so many good things, especially off the ground. She’s just so powerful,” said Williams.
But now all attention turns to Friday’s semifinal and the history that these two players share.
“Well she’s such a great champion and she had a great year last year,” said Williams when asked about the match-up.
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Williams has certainly had the better of their recent matches – Sharapova hasn’t defeated the current world No.1 since 2004, it’s a situation that Williams finds difficult to explain.
“I don’t know. We have some good matches, so I’m not quite sure,” said Williams.
Sharapova, however, had a little more to offer: “Some of the matches were a bit closer than others. It’s tough to take away all of if. When you go out on the court in a new time, you can’t really rely on everything that happened in the past. You got to start from scratch from the first point.
“Of course I know I’ve tried and I didn’t succeed in the last many times that I’ve played her, but I’m setting up an opportunity to go out there and try to change that, and I’m going to try to do that.”
Jankovic through to semifinals
Women’s fourth seed Jelena Jankovic has come back from a set down to dismiss fifth-seeded German Angelique Kerber 6-7(8) 6-3 6-1.
The fourth-seeded Serbian opened up an early lead in the opening set and served for it at 5-4 but was unable to finish the job. Much to the former world No.1’s frustration, Kerber not only broke back but won the opening set in a tiebreak.
Clearly rattled by the turn of events, Jankovic started the second set on a mission, giving her opponent less chances on her serve and attacked at every opportunity.
Jankovic’s hard work paid off as she settled into a rhythm to close out the second set before running away with the match. The win sets up a semifinal with either second seed Victoria Azarenka or unseeded Stefanie Voegele who play in the opening match of Thursday’s night session.”