Venus Easily Moves Into Fourth Round
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by: Brian Bohl | Senior Writer - NY Sports Day | Saturday, August 30, 2008
FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY - Snippets of the song “Venus” blared through the Arthur Ashe Stadium sound system early Saturday afternoon during a first-set changeover. The song’s lyrics were sitting, since Venus Williams smoked her first serves to cruise past Alona Bondarenko, 6-2, 6-1, on center court.
The seventh-ranked Williams needed just 57 minutes to beat Bondarenko and advance into the fourth round, where she play the winner of the Agineszka Radwanksa-Dominika Cibulkova matchup.
Williams won all 11 of her service games, posting nine aces against just one double fault. The seven-time singles Grand Slam title-winner said those type of performances are confidence-boosters. Her post-match remarks could also put the rest of the field on notice.
“I think I’m definitely at my best as far as understanding the game,” Williams said. “I’m trying different types of shots lately; trying to add some variety.”
In a tournament filled with upsets on the women’s side, Williams needed less than an hour to eliminate Bondarenko, the 27th-seeded Ukrainian. Four of the top 10 women's seeds have already lost before the first Sunday, including No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, Sveltana Kuznetsova (3), Anna Chakvetadze (10),and Vera Zvonareva (8).
Williams and sister Serena are the only two former champs still in contention. The draw will pair the siblings in the quarterfinals if both advance one more round.
“I think she’s playing really well and I’m glad she feels like she’s playing her best,” Serena Williams said. “When she’s at her best, she’s really confident.”
Venus said she enjoys playing with her sister instead of facing her as a rival. The two won the doubles’ Olympic gold medal in Beijing and have faced each other 10 times in Grand Slams. As a team, the sisters have captured seven doubles titles in the four majors: The French Open (1999), the Australian Open (2001 and 2003), Wimbledon (2000, 2002 and 2008) and one U.S. Open (1999).
“I’d much rather share that triumph with a team member, and then with my sister, than anything else.”
Williams once made the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center her personal home-court advantage. The American won back-to-back U.S. Opens in 2000 and 2001 before losing in the finals the following year.
The 28-year-old struggled with a wrist injury in 2006 but is looking to recapture her old form, winning Wimbledon in June to earn consecutive Grand Slam title on the grass surface and fifth Wimbledon overall.
But the hard courts at the U.S. Open are conducive to a serve that regularly exceeded 100 miles per hour. Bondarenko struggled to return Williams’ first serve, especially during game points.
“I think the Wimbledon win helped to change my mentality; to realize not everything had to be perfect all the time,” Williams said. “If I don’t have a perfect practice, I know I can play. I think that helps me relax.”
Like a hard-throwing pitcher putting something extra on a two-strike fastball, Williams seemed to dig deep and save her hardest serves on game points. Two second-set games ended with aces when Williams blasted a 126 mph serve to close the third game and a match-high 127 mph laser that Bondarenko watched helplessly crash into the padding behind the baseline.
Bondarenko hardly challenged Williams, making just four approaches at the net and converting only a sing point from there. Instead, the lower seeded challenger tried to exchange ground-strokes from the baseline. That strategy backfired since Williams belted 32 winners compared to her opponent’s four.
In the final day session, No. 4 Serena moved into the fourth round by beating 30th-seeded Ai Sugiyama at Ashe, 6-2, 6-1. The highest-seeded American woman’s fourth-round opponent will be determined by the Severine Bremond-Tathiana Garbin match that will be played Saturday evening.
“I’m definitely not at my best, but I hope to get there,” Serena Williams said.
