Serena Williams powers through to fourth round
17 March 2015 12:16 AM GMT
Top seed Serena Williams stepped up her comeback from a 14-year Indian Wells boycott by storming into the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-0 demolition of error-prone Zarina Diyas on Sunday. The 33-year-old American will face either compatriot Sloane Stephens or two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in the next round in the two-week hardcourt tournament in the California desert.
World number one Williams needed just 53 minutes to dismiss Diyas, blasting six aces and breaking the world number 32 six times in front of a crowd of 10,500 at the Tennis Garden stadium. “This is going in the right direction. I was able to be a little more consistent on Monday. I feel glad to still be in the tournament,” Williams said. Diyas had seven double faults and committed a rash of unforced errors, especially in the final game, when she had three in a row to bow out in calamitous fashion.
Williams is playing in her first tournament since winning a sixth Australian Open crown and a 19th Grand Slam title in January. At 33 years 127 days, she became the second oldest Grand Slam winner of the Open Era after Martina Navratilova at the 1990 Wimbledon.
World number one Williams needed just 53 minutes to dismiss Diyas, blasting six aces and breaking the world number 32 six times in front of a crowd of 10,500 at the Tennis Garden stadium. “This is going in the right direction. I was able to be a little more consistent on Monday. I feel glad to still be in the tournament,” Williams said. Diyas had seven double faults and committed a rash of unforced errors, especially in the final game, when she had three in a row to bow out in calamitous fashion.
Williams is playing in her first tournament since winning a sixth Australian Open crown and a 19th Grand Slam title in January. At 33 years 127 days, she became the second oldest Grand Slam winner of the Open Era after Martina Navratilova at the 1990 Wimbledon.
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