Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Simona Halep into Australian Open third round
Thursday 17 January 2019 11:29, UK
Simona Halep survived a scare to set up an Australian Open third-round blockbuster with Venus Williams, while Serena Williams eased through and looms in the last 16 for either her sister or the Romanian.
Halep, runner-up in Melbourne last year, and Venus Williams had to come through tough three-setters having been made to work harder than they might have expected in the second round.
But it was a different matter for Serena. Chasing an eighth title in Melbourne, progress was a more serene affair thanks to a 6-2 6-2 win over Eugenie Bouchard n just 70 minutes.
It gave her a 22nd win from her last 23 matches at Melbourne Park and she is a prospective fourth-round opponent for the winner of the Halep-Venus clash which promises to be a Saturday-night headliner.
Williams has her sights set on a 24th career singles Grand Slam title and raced into a 3-0 lead as Bouchard struggled to get to grips with the match, however, the Canadian threatened with an unexpected break in the fourth game of the match.
But Bouchard's serve was faltering and Williams broke straight back for a 4-1 lead. The pair traded breaks again before a run of four breaks in succession finally came to an end with Williams holding serve to take the opening set.
The American, who missed last year's tournament following the birth of her daughter, came into the match on the back of an eight-match winning streak at Melbourne following her title success in 2017 and having battled through a tight opening four games of the second she powered her way to the finish line.
Up next for the American is Ukrainian teenager Dayana Yastremenko who shocked 23rd seed Carla Suarez Navarro with a 6-3 3-6 6-1 success.
Halep is now likely to have to get past both Williams sisters in her quest for a second Grand Slam crown. She has won her last two meetings with the elder of the Williams sisters having lost the first three, but they will face off in a major for the first time.
The top seed knows she will need to improve after being given a tough examination by Russian-born American Sofia Kenin who claimed the title in Hobart last week.
Having eased through the first set Halep, lost the second to a dominant tie-break from her opponent and was then forced to fight back from 4-2 down in the third before a four-game burst sealed a 6-3 6-7 6-4 victory that lasted two-and-a-half hours.
"I have no idea how I won tonight. It's so hard to explain what happened on court," Halep said.
"She played amazing. I got a little bit injured in the second set but I just fought because I wanted to win and play again in front of you."
If it's Serena next, Halep will have to improve on a record of two wins from their ten encounters, only one of those came on the court after a walkover win in Indian Wells.
But first the Romanian, runner-up in Melbourne after last year's classic final with Caroline Wozniacki, will face seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams who won in three sets for the second successive round.
The 38-year-old doesn't have the Aussie crown amongst her seven Grand Slam singles titles, but has two finals (in 2003 and 2017) charting back over a 21-year period since her first Australian Open in 1998.
Williams took the first set before France's Alize Cornet levelled, and then ran away with the third for a 6-3 4-6 6-0 victory.
"The first two sets were so tough and in the second I felt I was controlling the points but just falling a little bit short," she said.
"So I tried to do the same [in the third set] and not fall a little bit short and it worked out."
Additional reporting AFP
We have the Australian Open covered from all angles via our website skysports.com/tennis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.
