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Published January 28, 2016 12:14
MELBOURNE, Australia - Top seed Serena Williams raced through a seamless first set against No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, eventually clinching a 6-0, 6-4 victory behind a flurry of aces.
The American heads into her seventh Australian Open final having maintained her perfect semifinal record in Melbourne (7-0) and without dropping a set through her first six matches.
But the World No.1 was never more dominant than she was on Thursday, hitting 18 aces to only four unforced errors in the opening set alone (finishing with 42 winners), allowing the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion only seven points in a 20-minute rout.
"I'm really excited to be in another final; it kind of blows my mind. I just feel like I'm playing the best I can and I can't believe I'm in the final!" a breathless 21-time Grand Slam champion told Rennae Stubbs during her on-court interview.
"Physically, I'm feeling a lot better, and mentally I needed that break after the US Open. But I didn't think I'd be doing so much, so fast; so thank you so much for all of your support," Williams added, addressing the crowd and her fanbase, known as "Rena's Army."
A former World No.2, Radwanska pulled up more soundly in the second set, leveling proceedings at 3-3 after falling behind an early break, and pushing Williams to produce her best tennis in the final game - which she opened with three of the eight aces she hit on the day.
"I love it in Australia; it's the only tournament that I play that if I lose early, I still hang out," Williams told ESPN's Pam Shriver after the match. "Sometimes I'm on the last flight back out to the US. It's just a fun place to be and the crowd has always been really awesome for me.
"Everyone was nervous for me that I was taking four months off, but this is a big year for me, and I wanted to improve and do better. That's what I did."
Standing between Williams and a 22nd Grand Slam singles title - and tying Steffi Graf's total - is the winner of the second semifinal, No.7 seed Angelique Kerber, who beat unseeded Johanna Konta, 7-5, 6-2.
Kerber ousted pre-tournament favorite and former No.1 Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals, while Konta began her tournament with a stunning win over Serena's sister, No.8 seed Venus Williams, in the first round.
"It's going to be tough no matter what; whenever you're stepping onto the court - especially for me, I feel like everyone plays their hardest when they play me.
"I'm going to be ready and whatever happens, happens. I'm really excited just to be in the final; I can't say that I though I would have been in this final after taking so much time off. Either way, I'll be excited."
The American heads into her seventh Australian Open final having maintained her perfect semifinal record in Melbourne (7-0) and without dropping a set through her first six matches.
But the World No.1 was never more dominant than she was on Thursday, hitting 18 aces to only four unforced errors in the opening set alone (finishing with 42 winners), allowing the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion only seven points in a 20-minute rout.
"I'm really excited to be in another final; it kind of blows my mind. I just feel like I'm playing the best I can and I can't believe I'm in the final!" a breathless 21-time Grand Slam champion told Rennae Stubbs during her on-court interview.
"Physically, I'm feeling a lot better, and mentally I needed that break after the US Open. But I didn't think I'd be doing so much, so fast; so thank you so much for all of your support," Williams added, addressing the crowd and her fanbase, known as "Rena's Army."
A former World No.2, Radwanska pulled up more soundly in the second set, leveling proceedings at 3-3 after falling behind an early break, and pushing Williams to produce her best tennis in the final game - which she opened with three of the eight aces she hit on the day.
"I love it in Australia; it's the only tournament that I play that if I lose early, I still hang out," Williams told ESPN's Pam Shriver after the match. "Sometimes I'm on the last flight back out to the US. It's just a fun place to be and the crowd has always been really awesome for me.
"Everyone was nervous for me that I was taking four months off, but this is a big year for me, and I wanted to improve and do better. That's what I did."
Standing between Williams and a 22nd Grand Slam singles title - and tying Steffi Graf's total - is the winner of the second semifinal, No.7 seed Angelique Kerber, who beat unseeded Johanna Konta, 7-5, 6-2.
Kerber ousted pre-tournament favorite and former No.1 Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals, while Konta began her tournament with a stunning win over Serena's sister, No.8 seed Venus Williams, in the first round.
"It's going to be tough no matter what; whenever you're stepping onto the court - especially for me, I feel like everyone plays their hardest when they play me.
"I'm going to be ready and whatever happens, happens. I'm really excited just to be in the final; I can't say that I though I would have been in this final after taking so much time off. Either way, I'll be excited."
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