Serena Williams speaks. “It was really fun out there, I found myself smiling at one point and I saw Victoria smiling. It’s been up and down, up and down, up and down. Somehow I’m still here”
She’s asked about the prospect of playing Maria Sharapova. It’s been a while but she’s been playing really well. She’s such a fighter. It’s always really good to see her doing well.” A career in comedy awaits her when she finally hangs up her racket. That’s all from me. Goodbye!
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Serena Williams beats Victoria Azarenka 3-6, 6-2, 6-3!
Serena Williams is serving with new balls and, incredibly, she begins with a double fault. That wasn’t in the script; nor’s a forehand winner that kisses the baseline from Azarenka for 0-30! Solution? An ace. Azarenka is completely befuddled by the slice, swinging, missing, laughing, then frowning when another ace flies down the middle for 30-all. Then comes a weird point. There are mishits at both ends - and then Williams sticks a presentable forehand into the net to give up a break point! Solution? A 119mph ace. But of course. Why not? A massive serve to the forehand brings up a first match point for Williams and Azarenka goes for broke and pulls a forehand wide! That’s it! Serena Williams has won an absolutely wonderful game of tennis!
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Third set: Azarenka* 6-3, 2-6, 3-5 Williams (*denotes server): Williams begins with a swift, sharp forehand stab at the net for 0-15. And then she misses a backhand return, before netting a forehand. Azarenka does not want to lose this game. She wants to make Williams serve for it at the very least. She’s snorting encouragement at herself as she steps up to the service line at 40-15 and ... she double faults, just as the sun peeks out over Centre Court for the first time today. The game goes to deuce, Williams steering a forehand into the left corner, edging closer to victory. But Azarenka pushes back. She holds with an ace. Can she deny Williams?
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Third set: Azarenka 6-3, 2-6, 2-5 Williams* (*denotes server): Not if Williams continues to ace like this. Her 12th of the match makes it 15-0. Her 13th follows swiftly. Then comes number 14 for 40-0. She finishes it off by punching a forehand into the corner. Williams needs 75 seconds to move one game away from a meeting with her old chum, Maria Sharapova.
Third set: Azarenka* 6-3, 2-6, 2-4 Williams (*denotes server): Azarenka holds to 15. She’s revving herself up. She still believes. She really wants this match. But can she break back?
Third set: Azarenka 6-3, 2-6, 1-4 Williams* (*denotes server): Williams zooms through an easy service game. Hope extinguished. For now.
Third set: Azarenka* 6-3, 2-6, 1-3 Williams (*denotes server): Backhand bullets ping and zing all over the place. Azarenka leads 30-15. So Williams brings out a forehand bazooka for 30-all. Another one almost sends Azarenka skidding backwards into the commentary box on Centre Court. Williams has a break point. It’s effectively a match point - and Azarenka saves it with a superb serve! She holds. She dodged a grenade there.
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Third set: Azarenka 6-3, 2-6, 0-3 Williams* (*denotes server): At 30-0, Azarenka must think she’s going to win the point with a delightful cross-court backhand pass. The ball is down by Williams’s feet - and she astonishingly dabs a volley over the net for 40-0! She holds with an ace.
Third set: Azarenka* 6-3, 2-6, 0-2 Williams (*denotes server): These are worrying times for Azarenka and they will be as long as she fails to get her first serve in. Williams whips a low forehand out of her grasp for a 0-15 lead, before Azarenka loops a forehand wide. Is she sinking? A tidal wave is certainly rumbling towards her. She desperately tries to swim to safety but dry land is so far away. Williams misses two backhands. But then she earns a break point with a crisp forehand winner and Azarenka clips a tired backhand wide under pressure. Splash!
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Third set: Azarenka 6-3, 2-6, 0-1 Williams* (*denotes server): So what’s Azarenka got now? She dipped at the end of the second set and you can’t do that against Serena Williams. The world No1 holds to 15, polishing it off with her ninth ace.
Serena Williams wins the second set 6-2 to level the match!
Azarenka does well to get it to 40-30 but Williams is treating some of these second serves with utter contempt, a stonking forehand bringing the game to deuce. For a while. Then a Williams return catches the back of the baseline and Azarenka hits long to give up a set point. That’s all Williams needs. Azarenka nets a forehand and we shall have a third set. And the momentum is with Serena Williams. Here she comes! “This match is so good, I’m expecting Inverdale to use the phrase ‘liquid tennis’ at any moment,” Simon McMahon parps.
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Second set: Azarenka 6-3, 2-5 Williams* (*denotes server): Williams wobbles, her second double fault at an inopportune moment handing Azarenka a 15-30 lead. Then Williams mistimes a forehand and hits the net! She’s gone flat all of a sudden and Azarenka has two break points! Can she take advantage? Not with the first. A forehand whooshes long. And not with the second. Williams puts a smash away for deuce and then finds a big serve to earn a game point. Then she swats a backhand into the corner to consolidate the break. She’s one game away from levelling the match.
Second set: Azarenka* 6-3, 2-4 Williams (*denotes server): On the BBC commentary, John Inverdale observes that this almost feels like a final. He’s right. Centre Court is buzzing. It’s electric tennis. Azarenka takes a 30-15 lead with an ace. The game goes to 40-30; then Azarenka misses a forehand down the line. Deuce. We’re back to deuce. Azarenka pulls a backhand wide to give up a break point and then she’s given a code violation for an audible obscenity. She’s brave, smart and lucky on the next point. She goes behind Williams, comes to the net and is relieved to see a backhand pass fly just wide. But she’s not out of the woods yet. She’s facing another break point when she belts a forehand long. She tries the same ploy. Williams reads it and this time her cross-court backhand is spot on; Azarenka can do nothing with her stretching volley and Williams finally breaks!
A question, readers. Which match was better: this one or Serena versus Heather Watson? I say this one, Kevin Mitchell reckons Watson.
Second set: Azarenka 6-3, 2-3 Williams* (*denotes server): The first four games of the second set have lasted 25 minutes. I’m exhausted watching it, so imagine how the players feel. Pretty tired, probably. They start with a couple of weary shots, trading points for 15-all. But Williams doesn’t want to show too much weakness. She hits her fastest serve, a 120mph ace, for 30-15, only to fluff an easy backhand down the line on the next point. Azarenka was so far away she might as well have been sitting in the crowd. She attempts to make the most of her reprieve and earns a break point when Williams clumsily knocks a backhand long. This is a Big Moment. So it calls for a big second serve from Williams for deuce. That’s followed by an ace. Williams holds.
Second set: Azarenka* 6-3, 2-2 Williams (*denotes server): Azarenka makes problems for herself with a double fault to make it 0-15. She loses her footing during the next rally. She still wins it, though. Her backhand is one of the best in the game. Williams snatches a 15-30 lead when she swipes a high ball away at the net. Azarenka responds with a well-placed serve for 30-all. The volume levels are lifted. The crowd chuckles at the almost parodic grunting. Azarenka charges the net and her volley is stunning for 40-30. But the game goes to deuce, Azarenka missing a forehand when the court was open and Williams was stranded. The standard is so high out there. Azarenka crashes a backhand from left to right and Williams slices into the net. It’s game point. But it’s not over. Williams spanks a forehand into the right corner and Azarenka somehow slashes it low over the net when all looked lost. This is Serena Williams, though. She marauds forward and flicks a forehand out of reach.
!
Yes, a maverick one-exclamation mark paragraph there. This match is that good. Williams grabs a break point. Azarenka defends. She’s on the brink - and Williams, disconcerted by a good backhand slice, splutters a forehand long! But Williams then gobbles up a weak second serve; a backhand down the line sets up a second break point. Somehow Azarenka survives. She wallops a forehand down the line and Williams nets a backhand! This game is huge. This match is incredible, the best of the tournament so far. The problem for Azarenka is her second serve. It’s weak. She hits an 80mph second serve. Williams hits a 91mph forehand return. Another break point. Another deuce. Azarenka needs a first serve. She doesn’t get one. But she gets away with it - Williams nets a backhand return and Azarenka has game point. That second serve, though; it’s vulnerable and it’s there to be hit. It’s back to deuce. Deuce. Lovely deuce. We’re really getting to know deuce. I’ll miss it when it’s gon... oh, it’s gone. Azarenka holds! What the hell?
Second set: Azarenka 6-3, 1-2 Williams* (*denotes server): At 30-15, Azarenka gives a second serve the treatment, steps on to a short ball and crunches a superb forehand away for 30-all. This match is reaching absurd heights. The next rally is brilliant. Williams is in it, out of it, in it, out of it, in it, out of it again, and finally in it when she somehow batters a forehand from right to left to win the point for a 40-30 lead. She wins the game with a banging serve. Be afraid, Vika.
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Second set: Azarenka* 6-3, 1-1 Williams (*denotes server): Anything you can do: Azarenka pings an ace out wide for 15-0; not fast, very effective, perfect placement, one from the chapter on serving in the Roger Federer playbook. She is serving well - and as I write that, she hits her fourth double fault to make it 30-15. The point stands, though, seeing as she follows that with an ace to make it 40-15. Azarenka holds, dragging Williams to places she never knew existed on Centre Court.
Second set: Azarenka 6-3, 0-1 Williams* (*denotes server): Williams reminds Azarenka of the size of the task that still faces her by winning the first game of the second set to love. Three aces were most welcome there. The last one was off a second serve, for crying out loud.
Victoria Azarenka wins the first set 6-3!
With Azarenka serving for the set, Williams rains down fire on her on the first point, a missile giving her a 0-15 lead. But Azarenka grabs a 30-15 lead, only for a double fault to make it 30-all. Williams is like a boulder chasing Azarenka down a hill. Somehow Azarenka jumps out the way, a wonderfully deep forehand changing the direction of the rally and drawing a backhand into the net from Williams, who suddenly finds herself facing another set point. Here we go: is this the moment? It sure is. Azarenka, in an inspired mood, scorches a forehand down the line and the first set is hers. That was some courageous tennis.
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First set: Azarenka 5-3 Williams* (*denotes server): Serena Williams is serving to stay in the first set, so naturally she begins with an ace for 15-0. Yet soon Azarenka is holding up her hand in apology after a net cord goes her way; I’m sure she means it. Williams isn’t really in her groove yet, smacking another shot into the net to make it 15-30, and Azarenka then brilliantly wrongfoots her stricken opponent to earn two set points! Williams comes up with a gigantic serve, though, and then clips the line with a backhand, causing Azarenka to scoop a backhand long for deuce. That shot from Williams was so close to going out. And soon she’s c’monnnning after holding to keep this set alive.
First set: Azarenka* 5-2 Williams (*denotes server): Williams gees herself up after Azarenka nets a backhand to make it 0-15. Maybe too much: she promptly overcooks a forehand return. Azarenka wins the next three points to hold. “Come on!” she barks.
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First set: Azarenka 4-2 Williams* (*denotes server): At 15-0, we are treated to an exceptional rally, the groundstrokes ferocious in their depth, power and angles. Eventually Williams wins it, sticking a no-backlift backhand winner into the corner. Azarenka then screams a forehand return from right to left past Williams for 30-15, but Williams holds.
First set: Azarenka* 4-1 Williams (*denotes server): Both players are aiming for the lines. They are wary of the other’s threat. Azarenka hits long with a forehand on the first point. She swishes her racket through the air, practising her motion; then she slashes a lovely backhand down the line for 15-all, which is followed by a couple of forehand errors from Williams. Azarenka fizzes her first ace away to consolidate the break.
First set: Azarenka 3-1 Williams* (*denotes server): Trailing 0-15, Williams rattles down her second ace of the match, her carefree action making it look like the easiest thing in the world. But Azarenka is playing without any fear, targeting the Williams backhand and winning the rally for a 15-30 lead. Then she skelps a forehand into the corner to earn two break points. This is already a quality fight and Williams saves the first with a hefty serve down the middle. Azarenka gets the next serve back, though, and Williams tamely nets a backhand. Azarenka breaks!
First set: Azarenka* 2-1 Williams (*denotes server): Azarenka is looking confident, which bodes well for a ding-dong quarter-final. She skips into a 40-0 lead, Williams not quite catching her returns cleanly. Yet she soon demonstrates her threat with two huge winners and Azarenka has to be solid to hold, whipping a forehand into the corner and then racing forward to put a volley away. We are off to a good start.
First set: Azarenka 1-1 Williams* (*denotes server): Williams glides into a 40-0 lead thanks to a backhand winner, an ace (the first of many) and a big serve. Azarenka nets a backhand return on the final point.
First set: Azarenka* 1-0 Williams (*denotes server): There are a few empty seats on Centre Court after the previous match, but Azarenka and Williams aren’t waiting. You snooze, you lose. Azarenka begins encouragingly, winning the first two points, but then comes a double-fault and a fine return from Williams. Azarenka was easing away from Williams but a second double-fault in the space of three points hands over a break point. It’s a good time to come up with a heavy serve out wide, then. Deuce. Advantage. Game. Azarenka escapes.
The players are almost ready. Play will begin shortly.
The winner of this match will play Maria Sharapova on Thursday. I believe that Serena Williams has a good record against her.
Preamble
Hello. She somehow survived the subtle onslaught of indecipherable craft and defensive tennis from Heather Watson, then she handled the pressure of playing her sister on Centre Court with a display of expert maturity, ruthlessness and professionalism. For the first time since 2012, Serena Williams is into the last eight of Wimbledon – and when that happens, she tends to end up with the Venus Rosewater Dish in her possession four days later. She is edging closer and closer to her second Serena Slam; even more importantly, the first calendar slam since Steffi Graf won all four majors in 1988 is a prospect that grows ever more likely with each hurdle she overcomes. Not that we’re allowed to ask her about it. Williams will not look kindly upon any more questions on that topic. So you’ve been warned.
She knows it won’t be easy, even though she makes it look easy. The path to glory and history remains a daunting one, riddled with stumbling blocks designed to trip her up along the way. Take today’s opponent, Victoria Azarenka. Sure, Williams has a 16-3 winning record over her, winning the pair’s last four meetings. She hasn’t lost to Azarenka since a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 defeat in the final in Cincinnati two years ago and she has never lost to her in a grand slam. This is their ninth meeting in major and Williams has won every won, including two victories here (in 2009 and 2012) and in two US Open finals.
But do not underestimate Azarenka. Go on. Look at her ranking: 24th in the world. No hope, right? 6-0, 6-0, done in under an hour. But look a little closer. The 25-year-old was the world No1 not so long ago and she has won two Australian Opens. Injuries plagued her last year but she is back now and she has been a hugely troublesome adversary for Williams in the past, even in defeat. Their matches tend to be decided by fine margins. There was a 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 win for Williams in Madrid recently and it’s only a month since Azarenka led the world No1 6-3, 4-2 in the third round of the French Open. She lost in the end. But she was leading 6-3, 4-2.
Play begins: soon.
