By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, January 23, 2017
"I’m still doing what I love and thank God I’m still doing it well,” said Venus Williams after bursting into her 21st Grand Slam semifinal.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Sprinting across the Melbourne sign several feet beyond the baseline, Venus Williams soared into a pirouette lacing a flying backhand into the corner.
Even when operating from obscure areas, Williams rose to levitational levels and stuck the landing.
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The 36-year-old Williams rallied from a break down twice in both sets then reeled off six straight points in the tie break powering past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-4, 7-6 (3), to barge into her first Australian Open semifinal since 2003.
“Today I feel like I played the game I wanted to play, which was just aggressive and let go,” Williams told Tennis Channel’s Jon Wertheim afterward. “That’s the way I want to play at this stage of the tournament. She’s aggressive so it felt good to conquer her in these circumstances.”
A revitalized Williams has not surrendered a set reaching her 21st Grand Slam semifinal and moving one step closer to a potential Venus vs. Serena final rematch of the 2003 final.
Contesting her 17th Australian Open, Williams will face former Fed Cup teammate CoCo Vandeweghe for a spot in Saturday's final.
“Thank God I have an opportunity,” Williams said. “I’m good where I am. I’m still doing what I love and thank God I’m still doing it well.”
The 35th-ranked Vandeweghe backed up her audacious dismissal of world No. 1 Angelique Kerber by thrashing reigning Roland Garros champion Garbine Muguruza, 6-4, 6-0, to roll into her first career Grand Slam semifinal.
It was Vandeweghe's sixth win in her last seven matches with Top 10 opponents and her second straight sweep of a reigning Grand Slam champion.
The explosive Vandeweghe won 22 of 25 first-serve points and did not drop serve winning seven straight games to send Muguruza packing. Vandeweghe set up a showdown with her childhood tennis hero Williams, whom she once asked for an autograph at a tournament.
"You dream about this sort of thing when you start playing tennis," Vandeweghe told ESPN's Mary Joe Fernandez afterward. "I didn’t grow up wanting to be tennis player. I grew up wanting to be a basketball player.
"I want to be at the pinnacle in the sport so to take a step in the right direction is a heart-warming feeling."
In their lone prior meeting, Williams swept the 25-year-old Vandeweghe, 6-4, 6-3, on the red clay of Rome last spring.
The quick court conditions on Rod Laver Arena are conducive to Venus' all-court attack.
It was Williams’ 50th career Australian Open match victory and her most complete match of the tournament.
It was a match of some crackling baseline exchanges. Ultimately, Williams superior movement, sharper serve, commitment to forward movement—she won 13 of 16 trips to net—and her resilience answering every break with a break back were the keys to the match.
Playing her first Australian Open quarterfinal, two-time Australian Open girls champion Pavlyuchenkova played proactive tennis scoring the first breaks in both sets. But she couldn’t make them stand. Squandering a 2-1 lead, Pavlyuchenkova double faulted to hand back the break at 15 in the next game.
Pounding returns, Pavlyuchenkova forced Williams to counter off her back foot. A netted forehand from the American gave Pavlyuchenkova her second break and a 4-3 lead.
In the eighth game, Williams’ wheels and volley skills ignited a four-game run that helped her take charge. She ran down a drop shot that sat up and lifted a forehand down the line for a second break point. Swooping forward, Williams stuck a swing volley winner to break back.
The four-time Olympic gold-medal champion won eight of the next nine points to close the set.
Whipping timely strikes, Williams converted three of four break points and doubled Pavlyuchenkova’s winner total (13 to 5) in seizing the 39-minute opener.
The 27th-ranked Russian saved a pair of break points in her first service game of the second set only to dump her sixth double fault into net to prolong the struggle.
The kinesiology tape wrapping her right shoulder got quite a workout as Pavlyuchenkova persevered through a near 12-minute hold. She was handcuffed by a Williams return to face a third break point. But Pavlyuchenkova saved it with her preferred combination: The wide serve to set up the sweeping crosscourt winner. She worked through a hard-four hold for 1-all.
That extensive test empowered Pavlyuchenkova, who immediately broke for 2-1—for the third time in the match she was up a break.
For the third time in the match, Williams answered with a break back, leaning low to curl a crosscourt backhand winner on the run.
Deadlocked at 3-all, Williams raced up quickly to a mis-hit return but badly bungled a forehand for break point. She came right back ripping a heavy forehand winner crosscourt to save it. On a second break point, Williams netted a low forehand down the line as Pavlyuchenkova posted her fourth break of the day.
A smoother mover, Williams consistently made inroads forcing the Russian to defend the edges.
A jolting crosscourt return provoked a netted reply as Williams broke back for 4-all. Steering a squatting backhand winner down the line, the 2003 finalist won her eighth straight point for a 5-4 lead.
Pavlyuchenkova punched a forehand return winner down the line for a 3-1 tie break lead. It was the last point Williams would lose.
Williams’ flat forehand can go astray when she falls off that shot and doesn’t finish her follow through. The forehand was there when she needed it most.
A crackling forehand down the line gave Williams a 4-3 lead. Two points later she punished an inside-out forehand for three match points. Pavlyuchenkova clanked her ninth double fault to conclude a one hour, 47-minute victory.