Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon when opponent Ana Ivanovic retired Monday one game into the second set.
Second-seeded Serena Williams also advanced with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Daniela Hantuchova, losing just two points on her first serve and breaking Hantuchova five times to complete the win in 56 minutes.
But what we’re wondering is…who’s hotter?
(Gratuitous photos and poll after the jump.)
Serena Williams fell, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-5, in the French Open quarterfinals to Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, ending her 18-match Grand Slam winning streak.
The second-seeded Williams was trying to win her third consecutive Grand Slam title.
Serena Williams (2) vs. Dinara Safina (3)
At 27 years of age, Serena Williams has seen more success than all the players on the WTA Tour combined. She has won nine singles Grand Slams and, after yesterday’s championship victory, eight doubles Grand Slams with her sister Venus. She’s been on the Tour so long that a distinctive pattern has emerged particular to the Australian Open: if it’s an odd-numbered year, Serena will win the tournament. She’s previously claimed the title in Melbourne in 2003, 2005, and 2007. Despite playing doubles and having to endure the sweltering heat, Serena has played well in every match and shown no signs of fatigue.
Her opponent is Dinara Safina, an aggressive Russian with a powerful forehand, an endless supply of energy, and an outspoken dedication to winning. It’s fun to watch her at press conferences as it almost pains her to play the sweetheart. Safina has never won a Grand Slam, though this is supposed to be her breakout year. But that’s a bunch of bunk — just about every player on the WTA Tour is supposedly having their breakout year. There’s such parity that nearly every player ranked in the top 10 will surpass world #1 Jelena Jankovic after this tournament. (Jankovic failed to make it past the fourth round.) Safina is the obvious underdog. She’s lost her last two matches to Serena in straight sets. If she were playing anybody other than Serena, I’d say she had this one in the bag.
Live coverage of the women’s finals will air early tomorrow morning (Saturday) on ESPN2 at 3:30 AM ET. It will then be replayed on Saturday at 9 AM ET and 8 PM ET on the same network.
Round 4 of the Australian Open begins today. The first Grand Slam of the tour calendar has already seen its fair share of surprises, disappointments, scuffles, and nudity. I’ve recapped the highlights below.
The top-ranked men advance
Of the top ten-seeded men in the tournament, only David Nalbandian failed to advance, losing to unknown Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round. The others, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsongo, Gilles Simon, Andy Roddick, Juan Martin del Potro, and James Blake have all made easy work of their competition. Really, things won’t get interesting until the Quarter Finals.
Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic are eliminated
It must be said that both matches in which they lost have been the most exciting matches of the tournament. Unseeded 20 year-old Carla Suarez Navarro, in only her fourth Grand Slam main draw appearance, defeated Venus Williams in the second round. It was an amazing match and both women gave it their all. Navarro, however, was able to consistently return Venus’ 192 mph serve and never seemed to tire. Williams was on the defensive during the final set and Navarro’s fine shot placement carried her to victory. The crowd congratulated the awestruck youngster with a standing ovation. Suarez has since advanced to the Fourth Round where she will face twenty-first-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues.
It was less than a surprise and more of a disappointment to watch Ana Ivanovic fall to twenty-ninth-seeded Alisa Kleybanova. For those who follow tennis, it’s perplexing that Ivanovic is ranked fifth in the world judging by the way she played yesterday. Strictly speaking, the Serbian lost because she couldn’t find her serve. It was painful to watch Ivanovic toss the ball five feet away from herself. She double faulted more than a few times and rarely was able to hold serve. All in all, the three-setter was intense, but undeniably sloppy. While Ivanovic made 50 unforced errors, Kleybanova committed 44, 24 of which came in the opening set alone. It’s time for Ana to take a break and try to get herself into the mindset that helped her win the French Open in 2008.
Serbian and Bosnian fans clash after Novak Djokovic/Amer Delic match
Last year at the Australian Open, Serbian and Croatian fans attacked each other with flagpoles, bottles, and boots. This year, the Balkan rivalry consisted of Serbians and Bosnians. After Serbian Novak Djokovic’s victory over Bosnian-American Amer Delic, fans from both nations pelted each other with chairs.
A streaker stalls a Williams sisters doubles match
Although this article claims the gentleman was out there for only 14 seconds, broadcaster Patrick McEnroe has him at nearly a minute. While Serena and Venus laughed bashfully during the incident, tournament officials aren’t taking this lightly. In 1993, a man stabbed Monica Seles on court during a match in Hamburg, Germany. Still, it looks like this guy was just having a good time.
Coverage of Day 7 will air at 7 PM ET and 12:30 AM ET on ESPN2.
It’s been six years since an American-born woman has played in a U.S. Open singles final. That match featured one of the earliest showdowns between the Williams sisters. At just 21 years of age, that was Serena’s second U.S. Open championship. Now, close to her 27th birthday, she’s gunning for her third against Serbian Jelena Jankovic. Though Jankovic has advanced to three Grand Slam semifinals this year, her match tomorrow against Serena will be the first Grand Slam final of her career. The two have the most powerful serves in the game, a skill which can produce numerous unforced errors by their opponents. Both are patient and able to sustain extended volleys as well. If Serena can consistently rush the net and get ahead early, she’s the favorite. The key to Jankovic’s success will be her placement; if she can pinpoint her crosscourt volleys and keep Williams on the run, we’ll have a new U.S. Open champion. Either way, we’re guaranteed a new #1 ranked women’s player.
The match will air Saturday at 7 PM ET on CBS.
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