Serena Williams was confident this would be her U.S. Open to win, even before the top four seeds went by the wayside.
But her merciless 6-1, 6-0 blitz of Qiang Wang stamped her the odds-on favorite to win the title — and a share of history.
“I know when I play someone I know is playing really well I know I have to step it up or go home,” Williams said in an on-court TV interview. “I wasn’t ready (to leave). I knew I had to come out here and play really well.”
Williams past her Chinese foe in just 44 minutes, the fastest match at this year’s U.S. Open. She improved to 100-12 all-time at the Open, just one win shy of Chris Evert’s record. And a victory in Thursday’s semifinal would give her a shot at an even bigger mark — Margaret Court’s two-dozen Grand Slam singles crowns.
The way Williams rolled, it’s getting harder and harder to picture somebody stopping her. Williams came in close to intimidate her foe, and was never challenged. Wang never even got close to a break point and didn’t notch a single ace the entire match, while Williams had 25 to just 10 unforced errors.
When Williams finally dropped a game to make it 5-1 in the first set, she closed the set on love and opened the second on love. And she did it all while moving well and – despite putting a brace on in the second set — showing no signs of problems on the ankle she twisted two days earlier.
“I’m feeling good. I had a really tough year, it started in January when I rolled my ankle,” Williams said. “I’m still here. Physically I’m feeling great and more than anything I’m just having fun when I come out here.”
Williams, the No. 8 seed, faces fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina, against whom she’s 4-1 but lost in the 2016 Rio Olympics. None of the women left have ever reached a Grand Slam final other than Williams, underscoring just how much of an overwhelming favorite she is.
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