Tuesday 26 January 2016

Australian Open 2016: Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer through

 
Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova for the 18th time in a row to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.

The American defending champion, seeded number one and chasing a 22nd Grand Slam title, saw off fifth seed Sharapova 6-4 6-1 at Melbourne Park.

It is 12 years since Williams lost to the Russian, and the world number one moves on to face fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the last four.

In the men's draw, Roger Federer beat Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-4.

The Swiss 17-time Grand Slam champion will play top seed Novak Djokovic or seventh seed Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals on Thursday.

The four-time Australian Open champion claimed his 80th match win at Melbourne Park, taking him into a record 12th semi-final and 39th Grand Slam semi-final at the year's first major tournament.
Williams extends dominance over Sharapova

Sharapova made it a real contest for almost an hour but eventually buckled under the American's power and the second set was a one-sided affair.

Williams, 34, appeared to struggle with her ball toss in the morning sunshine on Rod Laver Arena as she fell 2-0 down and was not at her best in the opening stages.



Williams needed attention from the tournament doctor at the end of the first set
The intensity ratcheted up as the set progressed with both players repeatedly yelling "Come on!" as they tried to grab the initiative.

Sharapova, 28, held on valiantly in an eight-minute game to claw her way back to 4-4, but the pressure told in game 10 and Williams clinched the set at the fourth opportunity with a volley.

The world number one called for a brief visit from the doctor at the changeover, but powered on stronger than ever in the second set, making it 12 games out of 15 as she sealed victory after one hour and 32 minutes.

"It was super intense," said Williams. "She's an incredibly intense and focused player who was world number one.

"When you're playing someone so great you have to come out with a lot of fire and intensity.

"I've been playing this whole week aggressive and I don't think I started out playing that way. At the start of the second set I wanted to play the way I have been doing to get to the quarter-finals."

Sharapova said: "It's motivating because she's at a different level. She makes you go back to the drawing board, not just for me, but for many other players.

"She makes you work. That's inspiring."

Radwanska earlier beat Spanish 10th seed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-3 to reach her second Melbourne semi-final in three years.

Berdych had won their past two meetings at Grand Slams but the most recent of those was four years ago, and Federer remained a solid favourite having won their past four matches.

The Swiss, 34, fell behind early in the first and third sets but hit back immediately both times and was dominant for the most part on serve.

He made a fast start to the opening-set tie-break and was in control from then on, breaking twice in the second set and making the decisive move at 4-4 in the third.

"I'm very, very happy," said Federer.

"Tomas has caused me a lot of problems over the years, but it's been a pleasure playing against him, he's the type of player who makes you better.

"I thought I played a good match. I was aggressive, had variety in there. It was good conditions to play in."

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