Tennis News

MELBOURNE, Australia – Venus Williams is through to her first Australian Open semifinal since 2003 without dropping a set after powering past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-4, 7-6(3).

“It’s wonderful to be here to start the year out with this,” an emotional Venus told the crowd on Rod Laver Arena. “I want to go further! I’m not happy just with this, but I’m just happy to be in the position to go further.”

Venus was made to work for every point by the No.24-seeded Pavlyuchenkova, who was into her first Australian Open quarterfinal and looking for a career-first Grand Slam semifinal appearance.

QFs are about to begin with @NastiaPav taking on @Venuseswilliams #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/e85sXfJP5G

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2017

Pavlyuchenkova punished Venus’ vulnerable second serve throughout the match, and the American found herself trailing down a break twice in both sets. But the experience of the seven-time Grand Slam champion showed in the big moments, and she broke back each time as Pavlyuchenkova faltered.

“I just think I wasn’t fresh enough to really go for the serves,” the Russian explained later in press. “I knew that I had to serve good because she’s very aggressive on the baseline and return. I was kind of putting a bit of pressure on myself on the serve. That’s why the percentage went low.”

Venus stayed aggressive throughout the hour and forty-seven minute affair, hitting 35 winners to Pavlyuchenkova’s 17 and striking 29 unforced errors against 32. She was a force at the net as well, winning 81% of the 16 points finished at the net.

The victory is Venus’ 50th win at the Australian Open, and, at 36 years old, she becomes the oldest player to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Martina Navratilova in 1994 Wimbledon.

“I have a lot to give to the game,” Venus said in her post-match press conference. “I feel like I have a lot of great tennis in me. So any time you feel that way, you continue.

“Why not? I have nothing to lose, literally.”

Venus will play the unseeded CoCo Vandeweghe for a spot in the final after the American knocked out No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza in straight sets.

“To have that thought that there’s going to be at least one U.S. player in the final is great for American tennis,” Venus said.

“I’m sure she’s going to want to be in her first final. I’m going to want to be in only my second final here. So it’s going to be a well-contested match.”

“I'm just so excited that I have an opportunity to play again.” @Venuseswilliams #AusOpen #Venus pic.twitter.com/nlmCO654vQ

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2017

MELBOURNE, Australia – Serena Williams is two victories away from a record-breaking 23^rd Grand Slam title and a return to WTA World No.1 after moving into the Australian Open semifinals with a commanding win over Britain’s Johanna Konta, 6-2, 6-3.

With the victory Serena is through to her tenth consecutive Grand Slam semifinal, a run stretching back to the 2014 US Open.

An even better omen for the American? She’s never been defeated at this stage of the Australian Open, having advanced to the final in the six previous times she’s reached the semifinals. This time, the promise of a return to the WTA No.1 ranking awaits should she claim her seventh Melbourne crown.

A walk that #Serena has done many times. Can Johanna #Konta cause another QF upset on RLA? #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/ll5twHthSK

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 25 de enero de 2017

Serena snapped up the last remaining semifinal spot after her much-awaited first-time clash against Britain’s No.1 Konta, who’s been in torrid form throughout the Australian summer.

Konta’s serve had been broken only twice in the entire tournament, but she quickly found herself on the back foot against Serena’s powerful returns, dropping serve twice in the opening set.

“I think it was probably one of the best experiences of my life,” the Brit described playing Serena for the first time. “I think there’s so many things I can learn from that, so many things I can look to improve on, also acknowledge some things that I did well.

“I think, credit to her, she played an almost perfect first set. I felt she really did incredibly well. She just showed and shows why she is who she is.”

Serena struggled with her own serve throughout the match as her normally powerful first serves – one of the hallmarks of her game – seemed to abandon her, giving Konta the first look at a break point in the third game of the first set. But when the serve failed Serena found other weapons to rely on, outpacing Konta from the baseline with some heavy ground strokes. A timely ace – Serena’s first of 10 in the match – bailed her out of trouble.

“My first serve wasn’t really great, but I’ve really been working on my second serve,” Serena explained later in press. “Hasn’t been great all tournament, so I’ve been kind of relying on my second serve. I’ve been relying on my groundstrokes, forehand, backhand. My returns have really picked up.

“All around, I feel like she’s a great all-around player. So I feel like I had to be on it all around today.”

With that early wobble behind her, Serena was all business as she steamrolled through the opening set, her forehand firing on all cylinders.

The American’s service woes put her in another early deficit in the final set, as Konta roared back from down 15-40 to break and open up a 3-1 lead. But the pressure from the 22-time Grand Slam champion never let up, who quickly broke back to establish parity, rattling off five games in a row to move into her 34^th career Grand Slam semifinal.

“No matter what happens, someone 34 or older will be in the final.” @serenawilliams on playing #LucicBaroni in the SF #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/5qEATzXq26

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 25 de enero de 2017

Standing between Serena and the final is Mirjana Lucic-Baroni after the 34-year-old stunned No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The pair’s last match came almost two decades ago.

“It was in ’98, I remember,” Serena said of their Wimbledon match. “It was on Centre Court. That’s all I remember. I remember winning. I was so excited because I was so young. She obviously was super young, too.

“Honestly, we have totally different games now, the both of us. We both have gone through a lot. We both have survived, and here we are, which I think is a really remarkable story.”

WIMBLEDON, Great Britain – At 27 years old, Amra Sadikovic is finally on the main stage. Currently ranked No.148, the Macedonian-born Swiss qualified for her first main draw at a Slam at Wimbledon, and on Tuesday she’ll get a chance to walk on Centre Court against an all-time legend in Serena Williams.

So how did Sadikovic react to seeing her name next to Serena’s in the draw?

“I was happy because to me it’s a dream coming true,” Sadikovic told WTA Insider. “You don’t get these chances every year to play one of the best players ever, and then on Centre Court, and in Wimbledon. What else? To me I’m going to go out there and fight and enjoy every single moment.

“There were a lot of players that told me, bad luck, tough draw. It is a tough draw, definitely. But I don’t look at this negative at all. It’s only positive. I can only win. I don’t feel pressure.”

Sadikovic was nowhere near the All England Club in 2014. In fact, she was nowhere near her professional tennis career. The 27-year-old walked away from her pro career at 25 and was coaching at a tennis club in Basel, Switzerland, when she happened to catch a bit of Wimbledon on the TV during a break between lessons.

On the screen was Eugenie Bouchard, a player Sadikovic had played and beaten before. Bouchard had played her way into the semifinals and eventually the final. It was a wake-up call for Sadikovic.

“I had lessons and I had a break. I saw she was on TV and I was like, ‘What? Really? I remember beating her.’

“I worked with kids, adults, good juniors [at the club]. It was so much fun. It’s something that I really want to do later on again again. But after a while I started missing competition. When you turn on the TV and you see the players playing the Grand Slams and you’ve beaten them, that hurts.”

Seeing women she competed against gain success on tour, Sadikovic began to consider a comeback. She missed the competition and her normal, daily routine began to grow tiresome.

“After 14 months, the last question I asked myself was are you able to get back – because I didn’t practice – body-wise, physical-wise. Then it was Timi (Timea Bacsinszky). She gave me the last kick. She’s done unbelievable. Respect for that.”

Sadikovic made her return at an ITF 20K in Essen, Germany last year in June. She qualified and made the quarterfinals, losing to compatriot Viktorija Golubic. Flash forward a year and she defeated Golubic in straight sets last week en route to qualifying for Wimbledon.

“I really gave up on pro tennis when I was 25,” Sadikovic said. Prior to retiring she reached a career-high ranking of No. 179 in 2012, winning eight ITF titles. “In the end it was because I was on court and I didn’t enjoy it anymore. I really asked myself what am I doing here? I don’t want to be here.

“It was also connected with money. It was not easy to afford all these things. I had the Swiss Federation supporting me but in the end it was not enough. My parents could not afford all this. The last 3-4 months I didn’t enjoy it on court anymore. Once I made the decision I felt relief. I don’t regret it. Thank god it was the best decision I ever made.”

Sadikovic says she’s returned to her “second career” with an entirely new mindset, one that is informed with the perspective she gained after walking away. She suffered from a crisis of confidence in her first career, never fully convinced she was good enough be a Top 100 player. But with the support of her family, that’s all changed.

“I have really the best family that I can have. They supported me at every step. Even my sister and her husband they said if you need money we help you out, just go and do your thing. Because I didn’t reach my potential. And I knew that.

“People told me you have the game, you can be Top 100 easily, but it was me. I didn’t believe. I was not 100% convinced I could make it. Now it’s a completely different story.”

Reflecting on her journey sees Tuesday’s match against Serena as a reward for her faith in herself and brave decision to return to the tour.

“I had problems handling pressure,” Sadikovic said, referring to her younger self. “I was afraid, scared — what happens if I lose? — instead of just enjoying playing because it’s such a privilege.

“Now I’m relaxed really because I know how it is when I worked at a coach. It’s a normal life and you have daily routines. But you get tired of it. It made me realize how nice the life of a tennis player really is. Before it was like I had to play. Now I have to be thankful that I can play against Serena, on Centre Court. So I don’t feel much pressure anymore.”

Quick hits with Amra Sadikovic:

WTA Insider: How do you feel about playing on grass?
Sadikovic: “For me it’s special playing on grass courts. Maybe the surface fits my game because I’m playing a man’s style game. I like to play slice. To me it’s elegant playing on grass. Everything is clean and just nice. It’s hard to explain.”

WTA Insider: For people who have never seen you play before, what should they expect from you on Tuesday against Serena?
Sadikovic: “Definitely say they are going to see variety. I hope my serve is going to work because that is also a weapon. I’m going to go out there and try to play my game and not focus on who is over there. That’s going to be the most important thing to me and then I’ll try to make her work as hard as I can.”

WTA Insider: You were born in Macedonia. How did your family come to live in Switzerland?
Sadikovic: “I was born in Macedonia but I’m not connected to this country. My parents moved during the war to Switzerland but my relatives are in Bosnia. So I’m more connected to Bosnia than Macedonia.”

WTA Insider: How did you pick up tennis?
Sadikovic: “My dad, he used to play basketball. Nobody in my family played tennis. I was watching TV all the time and I just wanted to try it. There was a match between Sampras and Agassi at the US Open and I just wanted to try that. This is how it started, when I was 9.

There was a club close to our house. When I came up with this idea that I wanted to play tennis my parents were happy because they were working a lot. We went to the club, we asked for a practice. I started right away three times a week. A week later I was playing club matches and I won the tournament. It was so cool.

WTA Insider: Did you play any other sports as a kid?
Sadikovic: “I played a lot of soccer with my cousins and basketball with my dad. It was nice but I didn’t want to depend on anyone. If I win, I did this. Nobody else. That’s why I decided to play tennis.”

WTA Insider: You’ve qualified for your first main draw at a Slam. What’s your next goal?
Sadikovic: To crack Top 100 by the end of the year.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.