Serena First Woman To Advance to Quarters
By Lisa Zimmerman
Sunday, September 2, 2007
The sun was shining brightly for the first match of the day in
Arthur Ashe Stadium between No. 8 seed Serena Williams of the
United States and No. 10 seed Marion Bartoli of France. Williams
got the win, 6-4, 6-4, and became the first woman to advance
to this year’s quarterfinals.
Williams, the 1999 and 2001 US Open women’s champion, has
yet to lose a set in this year’s tournament.
The match opened with Bartoli breaking Williams in the first
game, and she continued to look sharp, taking the next game,
as well, serving up two aces. The 25-year-old Williams then
turned on a switch and fired off a couple aces of her own.
"I think the key was definitely being able to hold serve," said
Williams after the match. "[Bartoli] has a good return and she
was actually serving better, I thought today, than she had in
maybe some Wimbledons. I thought her serves were much faster."
With her two-handed backhand and two-handed forehand, the
Frenchwoman displayed powerful shots but stuttered a bit in
the middle of the set, allowing the match to get back on serve.
Williams showed why she is an eight-time Grand Slam champion,
digging in and coming up with big points, usually off her serve.
"With Serena she just elevates her game when she needs to,"
said Bartoli. "She's not obviously trying to play the hardest on
every point. She just waits for the great moment, and then goes
for it and plays some great shots when she really needs to."
Bartoli, with an eagle eye, challenged two calls in the first set,
both of which were overturned. They were two of four total
challenges in the match – only one of which ended up standing
as called.
Up 4-3 in the first with Bartoli on serve, Williams tried for what
looked like an easy drop shot but misfired and sent the ball into
the net, as the packed crowd groaned loudly. The women had
several baseline slugfests, but it was a quick-hitting net volley
during which the ball never hit the ground that fully ignited
the stadium.
As the match wore on, Williams became steadier, and Bartoli
became less so. Williams clearly had no intention of being ousted
in the fourth round, as she was last year, and in no-nonsense
fashion, she closed out the match.
ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM - Women's Singles - 4th Round
Marion Bartoli FRA (10) 3 4
Serena Williams USA (8) Winner 6 6
Match Facts
- Serena Williams and Marion Bartoli have only faced each
other once before, in 2003. Williams now leads the series, 2-0.
- Marion Bartoli lost to Venus Williams at this year's Wimbledon.
It was her best Grand Slam finish to date. She had never
gone beyond the fourth round of any Grand Slam.
- Bartoli has long been a fan of Monica Seles, who also used
a two-handed forehand and backhand.
- Serena and her sister Venus are currently on track to meet
in the semifinals.
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