Tennis: Williams edges towards top spot

DOHA: Serena Williams moved to within two wins of becoming world number one for the first time in two-and-a-half years after reaching the third round of the Qatar Open on Tuesday.

The Wimbledon, US Open and Olympic champion showed no obvious signs of physical discomfort during a 6-2, 6-1 win over Daria Gavrilova.

“I am very happy to be here,” said Williams. “I feel really good. I played a really tough girl who has been junior champion, so I think it was a really good match.”

Her next opponent is the winner between Roberta Vinci, the 15th seeded Italian, and Urszula Radwanska, the world number 37 from Poland.

If Williams fails to reach the semi-finals, Maria Sharapova has a chance of regaining the number one ranking, and the French Open champion began with a 6-3, 6-2 win over French qualifier Caroline Garcia.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2013.