Williams: No trouble
Top seed and former world number one Venus Williams cruised into the semi-finals of the Japan Open with a 7-6 6-3 win over Australia’s Alicia Molik.
After a closely-fought first set, Williams edged the tie-break 7-4 and the Wimbledon champion was never seriously troubled in the second, closing out the match in one hour, 33 minutes with a crosscourt forehand off Molik’s serve.
The world number eight struggled with her serve in the first set, double faulting five times, but took control midway through the second set as Molik made some costly errors.
Break
Williams went ahead 4-3 when Molik double faulted in the seventh game of the second set and then held serve to go up 5-3 before breaking again to win.
“I was having some problems with my errors which was frustrating,” said Williams. “She played well and had the skills to win the match.
“There were times when I was good and times when I wasn’t. Now I just have to focus on the semi-finals.”
The American, who won last week’s Korean Open title, has now won 18 of 20 matches since claiming her sixth grand slam title in SW19.
Williams – who is playing in the event for the first time – will face unseeded Caroline Wozniacki in the last four in Tokyo after the Dane’s 6-3 2-6 7-6 win over Czech Klara Zakopalova.
- Tennis Results
- WTA Schedule
- Tennis on Sky
- Messageboards
Source: www.skysports.com
