Serena storms into last-16 of Madrid Open

Top seed eliminates China’s Peng in straight sets.

MADRID:

World number one Serena Williams cruised into the last-16 of the Madrid Open on Wednesday with a 6-2, 6-3 thrashing of China’s Peng Shuai.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion powered through the first set against the world number 42 for the loss of just one point on her own serve.

Peng showed more resistance in the second, but couldn’t convert on two break points and Serena needed just one chance to seal the only break of the set before serving out the match.

Serena wore a heavy strapping on her left leg throughout the match, but insisted there is no serious injury to worry about.

“It’s okay. I was just taping it to make sure it stays kind of warm and ready,” she said. I just had some issues and went preventive to make sure I didn’t make anything worse.

“I’m literally taking it one day, one match at a time, and not putting any pressure on myself here.”

Fourth seed Simona Halep also had a comfortable passage into round three as she saw off Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 6-4.

Berdych praises Madrid courts

In the men’s tournament, sixth seed Tomas Berdych stretched his perfect record against South African Kevin Anderson to 11-0 with a 6-1, 6-4 win.

“I always like to play here. The courts are prepared very well,” said the Czech. “It’s a bit faster because of the altitude, which suits my game well.”

Polish Lukasz Kubot made the most of Roger Federer’s withdrawal by beating Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis also moved into round three with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Ukrainian Alexandr Golgopolov.

Meanwhile, world number one Rafael Nadal dismissed lingering doubts over his form after shock defeats in Monte Carlo and Barcelona in recent weeks with a resounding 6-1, 6-0 win over Juan Monaco to reach the third round of the Madrid Open.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2014.

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