Once again, Serena Williams is the last U.S. woman standing at a major. The eight-time Grand Slam champion briefly struggled late in the day against young Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek, but powered through 6-3, 6-4 to enter the fourth round on Friday.
Serena's older sister, Venus, was less fortunate, when fourth seed Jelena Jankovic knocked out the five-time Grand Slam winner 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to race the fourth round. Australian Samantha Stosur was also sent packing by No. 6 seed Nicole Vaidisova 6-4, 6-4.
Serena, who will face Dinara Safina in the last 16, was far from her best against the ambitious Krajicek, but wasted few opportunities in the hard-hitting contest. She served fairly well, was solid off the ground and won most of the crosscourt sprints the two contested.
"Serena is playing great tennis, and she plays well in a crunch," Venus said. "And I think the longer she's in the tournament, the better she'll play."
Venus though will not have that opportunity. In a fantastic all-around performance, rising Serbian star Jankovic was the faster, steadier and more ambitious player on the day, daring Williams to keep up with her in long baseline rallies and feasting on mid-court balls.
Williams looked like she was prepared to push Jankovic to the wall after battling hard to take the second set and holding to 1-0 to open the third set, but then her game quickly plummeted while Jankovic refused to give an inch.
The American's normally trustworthy backhand deserted her, especially when sliding to her left. Once that vaunted shot was gone, her forehand also went haywire, and worst of all, she could make no impression with her serve.
Venus said she was tired in the third set due to over-practicing, but part of the loss of strength in her legs had to due with the Serbian's game plan, which was to move Venus side to side, and back and forth until the American became sloppy.
The strategy certainly worked. Deep in points, Venus failed to take an extra step to the ball and paid for it, as she could control neither the depth nor location of her shots. The contest ended after a tremendous 26-ball rally from the baseline when Venus pushed a backhand into the net. She ended the contest with 52 unforced errors compared with a mere 27 from Jankovic.
“I felt a little bit slow,” Venus said. “I just got a little tired, and I couldn't get my feet where I wanted them, so then I had some errors early. I think that's what happened in the third set. I would have liked to have moved forward a little bit more. On my days off, I think I've just been training too hard. I'll have the court for one hour, and then no one comes, and I'll hit for two, so I've got to scale back and not be an overachiever.”
Williams ended the contest with 52 unforced errors to 27 from Jankovic, who will face France's Marion Bartoli, who surprised Russian Elena Dementieva in straight sets. Venus believes that the Serbian has the goods to go very far, but is tabbing someone else to win the title.
“I think she's a good player, and I think that if she believes it, maybe she has a chance,” [But] obviously, I'm rooting for Serena.”
Jankovic, who won two Tier titles on clay during the clay court season, refused to jinx herself and call herself a title contender, but if she continues the form that she showed in the first three rounds, she will be a challenge for anyone.
“I'm not really looking at it,” she said. “I'm only in the fourth round at the moment. But today was a great match. It gives me a lot of confidence. It's always good to beat the Williams sisters and always difficult, but I proved myself once more and that's the third time in a row that I've beaten her, and it's just really a good win for me. I'm not really thinking about winning the tournament or anything. I'm just thinking about my next round, especially that I had such a difficult draw.”
