Although unhappy with her performance at the Australian Open,Williams proved again that the Russian has no respond to her power or her return of serveSeparated by 18 straight wins and enough animus to sink a peace summit, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will never be closer than is required by their mutual occupation of a tennis court. But, and whether the inked-in loser proved anything in their 21st contest,it was that the defending champion may not be the nailed-on favourite in this Australian Open that many believe.
There are two reasons: food poisoning which struck Williams before her 6-4, 6-1 victory in an hour-and-a-half in sweltering midday heat on Rod Laver Arena here on Tuesday, and the lassitude it produced in her tennis. At times she appeared confused,at one point in the second set ignoring a challenge the entire stadium could see was lega, then immediately wasting two on patently lost causes.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com