Serena breaks record, moves into fourth round

Serena Williams moved ahead of Martina Navratilova for most Grand Slam wins in the majors by a woman with a 6-2, 6-1 pasting of Sweden's Johanna Larsson.

Published : Sep 04, 2016 02:15 IST , New York

Serena Williams (left) will face Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan in the next round.
Serena Williams (left) will face Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan in the next round.
lightbox-info

Serena Williams (left) will face Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan in the next round.

The US Open last 16 looms for world number one Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep.

Polish fourth seed Radwanska accounted for Caroline Garcia in straight sets, while fifth-seeded Romanian Halep survived to beat Timea Babos in New York.

READ: > Murray, Wawrinka through to fourth round

Karolina Pliskova and birthday girl Carla Suarez Navarro were also third-round winners. 

WIN NUMBER 307 AND COUNTING

Williams made Open Era history as she eased past Johanna Larsson with a 6-2 6-1 win at Flushing Meadows on Saturday. Yet to drop a set at the year's final Major, Williams racked up four breaks of serve to move level with Roger Federer on 307 Grand Slam wins – taking her past Martina Navratilova in the process.

The 22-time grand-slam champion wasted no time on Saturday, claiming the opening set in just 37 minutes as she produced 13 winners. 

If the first set was routine, the second was a procession as Williams upped the tempo, not giving Larsson a chance to settle as she rattled off five games in a row to progress to a fourth-round clash with Yaroslava Shvedova, who prevailed 6-2 7-5 against Shuai Zhang. 

HALEP AVOIDS UPSET IN COMEBACK

The US Open hopeful outlasted 31st seed Babos 6-1 2-6 6-4 in a dramatic match.

Halep appeared poised to ease through to the round of 16 after taking the first set in just 24 minutes but Babos found her composure, claiming the second to force a decider.

Babos was then in the box seat, earning a 3-1 lead before Halep rallied for a 4-3 turnaround and an eventual spot in the next round.

Next up for Halep is 11th-seeded Spaniard Navarro, who was too good for fellow seed Elena Vesnina 6-4 6-3.

RADWANSKA IN THE HUNT

One of three players in the mix for the world number one ranking, Radwanska dispatched Garcia 6-2 6-3.

Radwanska, who can go top of the WTA standings if she makes the final and Angelique Kerber fails to reach the fourth round, benefitted from Garcia's error-riddled performance as the Frenchwoman tallied 34 unforced errors in 70 minutes.

The Pole will meet Ana Konjuh in the fourth around after the latter overcame Varvara Lepchenko 6-3 3-6 6-2.

Venus Williams - the sixth seed - starred under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium, blitzing Laura Siegemund 6-1 6-2.

Next up is 10th seed Pliskova, who upstaged Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2 6-4.

BREAKTHROUGH FOR PLISKOVA AND KONJUH

Pliskova's straight-sets win ensured she reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.

Croatian teenager Konjuh, 18, also achieved the feat.

Babos' loss meant the Bulgarian holds a 0-7 career record against top-five players, while she is 0-3 when facing Halep.

KERBER KICKS OFF LAST 16

The Olympic Games silver medallist headlines Sunday's play, as she takes on two-time grand-slam champion Petra Kvitova. Roberta Vinci is up against Lesia Tsurenko, while Caroline Wozniacki faces Madison Keys.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment