DAY 9/ QUARTERFINALS
AMERICAN PLAYERS
[13] Venus Williams (USA) defeated [24] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 6-4, 7-6(3). This match was going to be a challenge and it was. Pavlyuchenkova pushed her all the way. The difference was Venus’ superior mental strength. Despite her age (36 years), she looked the fitter of the two. Venus moved surprisingly well the entire match and I think that came from her determination to defy the odds, plus her continued passion for the game. This is her first Australian Open semifinals since 2003. Well done Venus!
[35] Coco Vandeweghe (USA) defeated [7] Garbine Muguruza (ESP) 6-4, 6-0. I have always known that Vandeweghe had talent; yet, for years she was never consistent and focused enough to put it all together. I am very happy to see her defying the odds and doing so right now. She has played smart and powerful tennis, knocking out the number one seed/ranked player (Angelique Kerber) and now the 7th seed to get to her first Major semifinals. Muguruza could not keep up and at the end she was close to crying in frustration because of her inability to find a solution to the power and accuracy of her opponent. Congratulations Coco!
[3] Bob & Mike Bryan (USA) def. [9] Dodig/Granollers (CRO/ESP) 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-4
[1] Bryan/Mattek-Sands (USA) def. Xu/Martin (CHN/FRA) 6-3,6-2
MEN’S QUARTERFINALS
[4] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) def. [12] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-3
[17] Roger Federer (SUI) def. [50] Mischa Zverev (GER) 6-1, 7-5, 6-2
SOURCE OF IMAGE: theage.com.au
I am so happy for Venus. For a while I was afraid her young opponent would push her to exhaustion but Venus held on. She outplayed her opponent and was able to win. I, too, am very proud of her.