Serena battles through to U.S. Open quarterfinals
08 September, 2020
Serena Williams advanced to the U.S. Open quarter-finals after a gritty, tension-soaked 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3 make an impression on Greece's Maria Sakkari on Monday.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner came up short in the second-set tiebreak, with her power serve abandoning her when she needed it most.
Sakkari carried the momentum in to the third set as she started the decider with a break.
However the 38-year-old American once more showed the battling instincts that has made her among the all-time greats. She broke back again to level for 2-2 as Sakkari's forehand began to misfire.
The six-time Flushing Meadows champion marked her 100th win on Arthur Ashe Stadium with a roar that could be heard all over the grounds.
"I simply kept fighting," said Williams, who lost to Sakkari fourteen days ago in the Western & Southern Open.
"She was doing so well she had been so aggressive.
"I knew I had a need to do the same thing."
Thiem crushes Augur-Aliassime to attain U.S. Open quarters
Second seed Dominic Thiem edged a first-set tiebreak before turning up heat to romp in to the U.S. Open quarter-finals with a resounding 7-6(4) 6-1 6-1 victory over Canadian youngster Felix Augur-Aliassime at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday.
Top seed Novak Djokovic's disqualification on Sunday for striking a line judge with a ball has left Thiem among the favourites and the Austrian gave a composed performance to attain the last eight in New York for the second amount of time in his career.
He was helped in his search for a maiden Grand Slam title by a below-par performance from Augur-Aliassime, who beat Andy Murray in round two but was well off the pace against Thiem, making 51 unforced errors compared to the second seed's 24.
Thiem won 74% of his first serve points and was near flawless at the web, while also sending down 22 winners as he wrapped up the contest in a shade over two hours.
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