At this rate, the engraver can start carving the name “Serena Williams” onto the trophy awarded to the winner of the U.S. Open, and the three-time Open champ can begin choreographing her victory dance.
That’s because yesterday, Williams ordered up a pair of bagels, and it only took 57 minutes for her to devour them as well as Andrea Hlavackova, whom Williams dispatched in a 6-0, 6-0 whitewash to advance to the quarterfinals.
“I don’t think I started out strong in the tournament,” the fourth-seeded Williams said afterward. “I feel like [yesterday] I’m getting more comfortable with the court and comfortable with the conditions, and I’m getting back to my game, which is good. You know I like to play better during the second week, so hopefully I can do that.”
After winning Wimbledon and Olympic gold medals in both women’s singles and doubles, Williams hasn’t been tested in four rounds, but refused to admit she has had an easy time thus far.
“I don’t think anything is easy,” she said. “I never play a person and say, ‘Oh, that was an easy opponent.’ Everything takes some type of match and mental toughness.”
Next up is No. 12 Ana Ivanovic, whom Williams owns a 3-0 lifetime record against, including a 6-3, 6-4 triumph in the fourth round at last year’s Open.
“It’s always tough,” Ivanovic said of facing Williams, following her 6-0, 6-4 conquest of Tsvetana Pironkova. “She’s obviously a great player and she’s been, I think, playing the best out of all the girls on tour at the moment. She’s been having so many victories lately. Her serve is definitely her strength. I really have to be sharp from the first moment on and stay aggressive.”
Williams’ serve has been so dominant, she has only lost two of her 30 service games. She has yet to lose a set, and only had seven unforced errors yesterday while holding Hlavackova to 10 points in the first set, and a mere 29 for the match. Ivanovic knows she has her work cut out for her.
“I think the goal will be just to try to make as many returns as possible and try to look for opportunities,” Ivanovic said, “because that’s basically the only way [to win], to put pressure on her second serves.”
Williams admitted she doesn’t remember much about her previous matches with Ivanovic.
“Obviously being [a former] No. 1, having that Grand Slam under her belt, she remembers what it’s like to win,” Williams said. “Yeah, I remember … clearly not a lot, but I will be looking at film.”
The runner-up at last year’s Open, losing to Samantha Stosur in the final, Williams is looking for her first Open crown since 2008. As for her serve, she said it wasn’t as good as it was earlier in the summer.
“I think I hit unbelievable serves at Wimbledon and the Olympics,” she said. “I’m not in that level yet. I don’t know what [my serve] does because I have never faced it. I’m not one to sit there and say, ‘It’s so good, it’s so good’. I want to keep being better. I want to do more with my serve.”
It’s hard to do any better than she did yesterday, but if Williams does manage to improve, there’s an excellent chance a trophy-hoisting and a rollicking dance are in her immediate future.
* Things didn’t go as well for Serena last night, as she and sister Venus were knocked out of the doubles completion in the third round by fourth-seeded Russians Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova, who avenged an Olympic semifinals loss with a 6-1, 6-4 victory.
The Williams sisters were after their 14th Grand Slam doubles title, but after they lost 15 consecutive points at one stage, the Russian duo, who won bronze in London, had their payback, and a berth in the quarterfinals.