US Open 2015: Serena Williams to meet sister Venus in quarter-finals
US Open |
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Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 31 August-13 September |
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Coverage: Live radio and text commentary on every Andy Murray match plus selected matches |
Serena Williams saw off a significant threat to her Grand Slam hopes with victory over 19th seed Madison Keys at the US Open.
Williams, the world number one, beat her fellow American 6-3 6-3 to set up a quarter-final against her sister Venus.
Serena, 33, is now three wins from competing the first calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.
Men's defending champion Marin Cilic and 19th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga both won and will meet in the last eight.
Top seed Novak Djokovic plays 24th seed Roberto Bautista Agut later on Monday.
Serena finds her serve
Keys hit more winners than Serena, but won only 10 of 28 points on her second serve
Williams knew she faced a serious threat in the powerful 19-year-old Keys, and the six-time champion produced a clinical performance.
She had looked nervous and on edge throughout the first week, with her normally impregnable serve vulnerable - the most dominant shot in tennis was broken five times in three matches.
Williams hit the practice court hard after her third-round match, and she would not offer up a single break point against Keys.
"I served much better today," Williams said afterwards. "I'm so proud I was able to serve better.
"Obviously I had to - I knew I wouldn't have too many chances to break."
In a match dominated by short rallies of fewer than four strokes, Keys cracked first with two double faults in a row to give up the break in game eight.
Williams duly served out and kept the pressure up in the second set, missing a host of break points before converting the seventh to lead 4-3.
She did not require any help, but a net cord handed Williams match point and a Keys double fault brought an end after 68 minutes.
The next player in Serena's path is her 35-year-old sister Venus, who beat Estonia's Annett Kontaveit 6-2 6-1.
Serena stats
- Williams won 64% of points on the Keys second serve
- She won 79% of first serve points and 70% on second serve
- Rallies of 0-4 shots - 90; rallies of four or more shots - 21
- Serena is fourth in the aces chart on 26, Venus leads on 33
- She has spent four hours and 59 minutes on court in four matches
Champion Cilic rolls on
Marin Cilic beat Kei Nishikori in the final of the 2014 US Open
Cilic survived an examination from France's Jeremy Chardy, and a twisted ankle, to return to the quarter-finals.
After winning the first set, the Croat rolled his ankle in losing the second and was taken to a third-set tie-break.
But he took that with the help of four aces and breezed through the fourth to complete a 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-0 win.
"Jeremy played really well from second set on and I was having trouble with my movement after twisting my ankle," said Cilic, a first-time Grand Slam winner at Flushing Meadows last year.
The ninth seed will next play Tsonga, who beat fellow Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-4 6-3 6-4.
Britwatch
Briton Dominic Inglot's new partnership with Sweden's Robert Lindstedt has continued its promising start as the unseeded pair overcame Tommy Haas and Radek Stepanek 6-4 6-3.
Inglot and Lindstedt, who won the Winston-Salem doubles title in only their third Tour-level event last month, will play either either sixth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea or ninth seeds Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the quarter-finals.
Britain's Colin Fleming and partner Treat Huey of the Philippines were beaten in three sets by Argentina's Leonardo Mayer and Portugal's Joao Sousa, going down 6-4 3-6 6-3.
Quotes of the day
"Awesome. It's been awesome." Venus Williams describes the experience of spending almost 20 years at the top of the game with her sister.
"It's one of my best weapons since I'm kid, so it's something I don't really need to focus on." Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is not spending his time practising the serve.
"The way to win the points is to play well." Defending champion Marin Cilic reveals the secret to his success.
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