Serena beats Maria to book final berth
4 Jan 2014 5:34 AM IST
Williams, the defending champion, beat Sharapova 6-2, 7-6 (9/7) in one hour, 43 minutes on Pat Rafter Arena.
Earlier, Azarenka recovered from a disastrous first set to beat Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Williams and Sharapova have a fierce rivalry on the court, which is matched by an at times bitter relationship off it. They didn’t hold back during their semifinal, thrilling the packed stadium with the power and depth of their groundstrokes.
Both women struggled to hold their serves throughout, although Williams was slightly more consistent, breaking Sharapova three times in the first set while losing hers only once, despite making only 40 percent of her first serves.
‘I think we are both very strong returners, and personally I couldn’t get a first serve in today,’ Williams said. ‘My first serve percentage was extremely low. I didn’t serve nearly as well as I served in my first two matches.
‘(I was) a little disappointed because that’s what I’ve been working on, being consistent with my serve.’
Azarenka held off a late comeback from Jankovic to win in two hours, five minutes. ‘I think we can look at it (the first set) as a struggle, but I don’t think that was a struggle - I think Jelena played really, really well in the first set,’ she said. ‘I felt that I could have done better.’
Earlier, Azarenka recovered from a disastrous first set to beat Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Williams and Sharapova have a fierce rivalry on the court, which is matched by an at times bitter relationship off it. They didn’t hold back during their semifinal, thrilling the packed stadium with the power and depth of their groundstrokes.
Both women struggled to hold their serves throughout, although Williams was slightly more consistent, breaking Sharapova three times in the first set while losing hers only once, despite making only 40 percent of her first serves.
‘I think we are both very strong returners, and personally I couldn’t get a first serve in today,’ Williams said. ‘My first serve percentage was extremely low. I didn’t serve nearly as well as I served in my first two matches.
‘(I was) a little disappointed because that’s what I’ve been working on, being consistent with my serve.’
Azarenka held off a late comeback from Jankovic to win in two hours, five minutes. ‘I think we can look at it (the first set) as a struggle, but I don’t think that was a struggle - I think Jelena played really, really well in the first set,’ she said. ‘I felt that I could have done better.’
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