Williams
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Serena Williams even impressed herself with her powerful showing at the Family Circle Cup on Saturday.
Williams needed less than an hour to dispatch second-seeded Samantha Stosur 6-1, 6-1 and advance to the clay-court final.
“You know, I think it was just one of those days that I could have done anything against anybody,” Williams said.
There aren’t many people in the world who could’ve withstood Williams’ performance at the Family Circle Tennis Center. The 10th-ranked player was on her game from the start, winning the match’s first eight points and rarely letting Stosur catch a breath.
On Sunday, Williams will face Lucie Safarova, a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Polona Hercog.
Stosur held serve to cut Williams’ lead to 2-1, then lost the next nine games. Stosur, who defeated Williams to win the U.S. Open title last September, got a loud cheer from the crowd when she prevented Williams from shutting her out in the second set.
Williams hit a forehand winner to end the match moments later, and eliminated Stosur from a tournament for the second straight week. Williams beat Stosur 7-5, 6-3 last week at the Sony Ericsson Open, serving 20 aces — tying per personal best — in the hard-court win.
Williams only had seven aces in this one, but was in command of nearly every shot she hit.
“I have to say this is probably the best match I’ve played in my career, either in a long time or it’s up there in the top five,” Williams said.
Safarova has lost all four times she’s played Williams. The 25-year-old from the Czech Republic watched the opening semifinal and said she’ll have a plan to slow down Williams’ attack. After all, Safarova didn’t lose a game in her semi, something she joked about with Serena.
“’Yeah, I got you,”’ Safarova told Williams when they saw each other after the match.
If Williams matches her Saturday effort in the finals, Safarova will have her hands full. “It’s a great challenge. She’s a great player,” Safarova said, “and you see what she’s done today.”