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Serena, Venus Set Up Wimbledon Clash

Jul 3rd 2015

With the July 4th weekend at hand in the United States, there were fireworks in London as play continued in the women’s draw on Friday.

Serena and Venus set up a Williams Sister Showdown

When the ladies draw was announced, the potential for a Serena and Venus Williams fourth-round showdown stood out in the bracket. With both in the same portion of the draw and facing matches in which they would be deemed as favorites, it appeared inevitable. The inevitable became a reality, but not without another signature comeback from Serena. She defeated Heather Watson, 6-2 4-6 7-5, while Venus cruised against Aleksandra Krunic, 6-3 6-2.

Serena Williams

Serena was featured on Centre Court in front of spectators who were clearly cheering for the top Brit. The world No. 1 appeared unbothered as she rolled through the first set, but as the intensity picked up in the second set with Watson feeding off the home crowd, she battled back into the match. And behind the strength of deep clean groundstrokes and seemingly chasing every ball down, Watson broke the top seed and closed out the second set.

In the third set, with the crowd and momentum behind her, Watson jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two breaks of Williams’ serve. In a key fourth game, the two engaged in tremendous rallies as Watson fought to hold serve as play went back and forth. With the importance of the game weighing on both, Williams would finally gain one break back, and the momentum shifted. She would win four consecutive games before Watson could fend off the tide. As the match turned into a Davis Cup atmosphere, Watson would break the American once more, setting up an opportunity to serve out the match at 5-4.

However, another momentum shift occurred in a frenzied 10th game as Williams desperately attempted to break serve and stay in the match. In a game that resembled a prize fight, Watson took the veteran’s best shots and refused to go down. But the old cliché about the heart of a champion came into play, and Williams broke to even the set.

Later, after a quick hold by Williams, the pressure shifted to Watson, who needed to hold serve to stay in the match, down 5-6. And despite an amazing fight and performance overall, she was unable to hold off the 20-time major champion, who broke serve to advance.

Serena gave credit to her opponent afterwards, saying “She absolutely has every chance to reach the top 20 in the world and beyond. She was playing so good at times, there was little I could do.” Watson was disappointed but optimistic for her future. “I wouldn't call losing the greatest day of my career,” she said. “I am pleased that I gave myself the chance to play the best in the world and gave myself the opportunity to beat her. I didn't take it, but I hope the experience will help me next time.”

Things came easier for Venus, who fused her power game into precise groundstrokes. Krunic could not make a dent into the Williams serve, which held throughout the match. Venus would find success at the net as well, taking 21 of her 29 approaches.

The victories set up a Venus versus Serena fourth-round match on Monday.  Serena holds a 14-11 advantage against her sister, but the last time the two met, Venus took the win at the 2014 Canadian Masters in three sets.

Maria Sharapova

Sharapova into Final 16

Maria Sharapova continued her strong performance in London with a 6-4 6-3 win over Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu.

The Russian found enough success against Begu’s serve to carry her in the match, and she overcame 15 unforced errors to advance in a match where she only fired 11 winners. But as she has demonstrated before, Sharapova won the key points during the match, which separated the two players on the day.

She reflected on her play after the match, noting “What everyone at this stage of the tournament expects is to go further and expect more, better things from yourself. As the matches get tougher, you have to raise your level. You have to have the belief, and I absolutely do. You don't work all those hours to go on court and not believe in yourself.”

Safarova overcomes Stephens

Sloane Stephens, who has a reputation of upping her play at Grand Slam events, entered her match against sixth-seeded Lucie Safarova having done just that. Exhibiting poise in a business-as-usual demeanor, Stephens began her match against the Czech with a continuation of her accrued momentum in London. However, the French Open finalist stayed the course, turning the match in her favor and advancing, 3-6 6-3 6-1.

A strength that Safarova has acquired in her best season as a pro is the ability to remain untroubled when the tide of a match is not in her favor. On Friday, after a first set where the American dictated play, Safarova controlled her service games and found cracks in Stephens’ serve in the next two, steering her to victory.

Safarova will next face Coco Vandeweghe, who was impressive in her 6-2 6-0 victory against veteran Sam Stosur.