Venus, Serena Move Closer to US Open Sister Showdown
Posted on September 3, 2007It was an upset in terms of seeding only as No. 12 Venus Williams eased past No. 5 Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-2 Sunday at the US Open.
"I can't say that I'm not here to prove a point per se," Williams said. "I'm definitely out here to advance to the next round, to make my chances better, to get obviously to the title, which is the ultimate goal for every player. So no matter who I'm playing, I'm not out there to prove anything or, so I beat so and so. It's important for me to get to the next round."
Both Williams sisters moved into the quarterfinals as No. 8 Serena Williams muddled through a bad-tempered 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 10 Marion Bartoli.
"With Serena she just elevates her game when she needs to," Bartoli said. "She's not obviously trying to play the hardest on every point. She just wait for the great moment, and then go for it and play some great shots when she really need to."
Also into the quarters was world No. 1 Justine Henin who spanked No. 15 seed Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-2, and No. 3 Jelena Jankovic who outlasted No. 19 Sybille Bammer in three sets.
Henin will next play Serena Williams for the third time in a row at a Slam.
"I think that I've been pretty lucky," Henin said "I haven't been lucky, but that worked pretty good for me in the last two Grand Slams. I hope it's going to be another good one. Yeah, we know each other pretty well. I know everyone was waiting for that match, and here we are. That's why I'm playing tennis, to play this kind of match. That's why I'm here. I'm very happy I'm going play her, and I hope we can show good tennis, and I think it's great for me."
Scheduled for Monday at the US Open are Victoria Azarenka vs. (4) Svetlana Kuznetsova, (6) Anna Chakvetadze vs. Tamira Paszek, Agnes Szavay vs. Julia Vakulenko, and (18) Shahar Peer vs. (30) Agnieszka Radwanska.
"I can't say that I'm not here to prove a point per se," Williams said. "I'm definitely out here to advance to the next round, to make my chances better, to get obviously to the title, which is the ultimate goal for every player. So no matter who I'm playing, I'm not out there to prove anything or, so I beat so and so. It's important for me to get to the next round."
Both Williams sisters moved into the quarterfinals as No. 8 Serena Williams muddled through a bad-tempered 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 10 Marion Bartoli.
"With Serena she just elevates her game when she needs to," Bartoli said. "She's not obviously trying to play the hardest on every point. She just wait for the great moment, and then go for it and play some great shots when she really need to."
Also into the quarters was world No. 1 Justine Henin who spanked No. 15 seed Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-2, and No. 3 Jelena Jankovic who outlasted No. 19 Sybille Bammer in three sets.
Henin will next play Serena Williams for the third time in a row at a Slam.
"I think that I've been pretty lucky," Henin said "I haven't been lucky, but that worked pretty good for me in the last two Grand Slams. I hope it's going to be another good one. Yeah, we know each other pretty well. I know everyone was waiting for that match, and here we are. That's why I'm playing tennis, to play this kind of match. That's why I'm here. I'm very happy I'm going play her, and I hope we can show good tennis, and I think it's great for me."
Scheduled for Monday at the US Open are Victoria Azarenka vs. (4) Svetlana Kuznetsova, (6) Anna Chakvetadze vs. Tamira Paszek, Agnes Szavay vs. Julia Vakulenko, and (18) Shahar Peer vs. (30) Agnieszka Radwanska.