Venus Williams gets into Australian Open quarterfinals
MELBOURNE, Australia – For the first time since 2004, three American women are into the quarterfinals of a major.
Both Venus and Serena Williams won their matches on Monday at the Australian Open, as did 19-year-old Madison Keys.
How did the 34-year-old Venus come through her upset over No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska? Here's the story.
Scoreline: (18) Venus Williams (USA) def. (6) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 6-3, 2-6, 6-1
Williams hadn't been to the quarterfinals of a major herself since the 2010 US Open and had lost her last three outings to the crafty Radwanska, who is now coached by the one and only Martina Navratilova. But Williams was in vintage form on this night, which saw her finish the match on a second serve ace up the T.
What it means: Venus will now take on the teenager Keys, who said Monday that she started playing the sport because she was inspired by the Williams sisters. It marks a full-blown return to form for the former world No. 1 and seven-time major champion Venus, who hasn't been a great force in the upper reaches of women's tennis since she was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease known as Sjogren's Syndrome, which causes fatigue.
How it happened: Williams won the all-important seventh game of the first set, a back-and-forth affair that gave the American a break advantage. She closed out the set by breaking again, but Radwanska turned things around in the second set by consistently running down balls and changing up the pace on the power-hitter Williams.
In the third, however, Williams broke through, hitting cleanly and chasing down balls that she has often been unable to reach these last three years. She ended the match with a bang, delivering an ace and putting her into the last eight of this event.
Key stat: Against a player who tracks down everything, Venus needed to hit more winners than unforced errors on this night and she did just that, blasting away 43 untouchables compared to 36 errors. She didn't serve abundantly well, but held Radwanska to only 40 percent receiving points won, a strong number for a returner of her stature.
What she said: "My sister Serena (is my inspiration), she's the ultimate champion," Venus said in an on-court interview. "I really have to thank my fans for sticking with me. In the third set I think I went into a trance and I just wanted to win."