The US had a really strong day in Dubai as both #1 Serena and Venus Williams reached the semifinals in the singles draw while Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigal Spears are in the doubles semifinals.
Venus Williams took out Flavia Pannetta in straight sets 6-3, 7-5. Venus was broken four times but broke Pannetta six times as Williams won a majority of points on both her serve and Pannetta’s serve. Venus faces #8 Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals.
Lisa Raymond and Shuai Zhang (China) were knocked out by Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Safarova 6-3, 7-5 in the quarterfinals. The match might not be as close as it looks as the Raymond/Zhang only won 18 points off their opponents serve and won 15 less total points.
Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigal Spears took on #1 Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci thumped them soundly 6-4, 6-1 in an impressive outing. The Americans won 56% of the points off the Italians first serve and broke them five times in eight games. They’ll face Flavia Pennetta and Sam Stosur in the semifinals on Friday.
Finally #1 Serena Williams took on #5 Jelena Jankovic and routed her 6-2, 6-2 in and hour and 16 minutes. Williams was strong on her serve (won 65% of her service points) and tore into the 24 second service points that Jankovic served up by winning 16 of them. Williams won the match by breaking her five times in eight service games. Serena now faces Alize Cornet on Friday in the semifinals.
Singles Draw
This is the route for each American to the main draw if the higher rankings win. Green means the American on the left would be the higher ranked player, red means they would be lower ranked. Bold on an athlete indicates that match has been completed. Matches highlighted in yellow are on today’s schedule. Click to expand.
The draw for Serena Williams was lightened a bit when Alize Cornet knocked off Carla Suarez Navarro. Serena can make the final in Dubai with only one match against a top 22 player in the world, Venus is playing her third so far against Wozniacki.
The Matchups
Serena Williams and Alize Cornet will be meeting for the fourth time when they play on Friday. Williams is 3-0 and won 6-2, 6-2 in their last meeting, a round of 16 matchup in Brisbane last year.
Venus Williams will be facing Caroline Wozniacki for the fifth time on Friday. Williams has won all four meetings but they haven’t met since 2008 when Venus won 6-3, 6-3 in the round of 16 in Miami. Williams has never even lost a set to Wozniacki or been taken to a tiebreaker in a set.
Doubles Draw
This is the route for each American to the main draw if the higher rankings win. Green means the American on the left would be the higher ranked player, red means they would be lower ranked. Bold on an athlete indicates that match has been completed. Matches highlighted in yellow are on today’s schedule. Click to expand.
The semifinal for Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigal Spears features a lower ranked doubles team now as Flavia Pennetta and Sam Stosur knocked out Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Alicja Rosolska. #2 Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina also got knocked out on the other side so the highest ranked team they could face in the final is Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Safarova.
The Matchups
In the quarterfinals on Thursday Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigal Spears will face Flavia Pennetta and Sam Stosur. It’s the first meeting between the two teams.
Tuesday Schedule
All times ET
- Approx. 8 AM – Venus Williams vs. #8 Caroline Wozniacki on Center Court – Williams leads 4-0 all-time
- Approx. 10 AM – #1 Serena Williams vs. Alize Cornet on Center Court – Williams leads 3-0 all-time
- Approx. 12 PM – Raquel Kops-Jones/Abigail Spears vs. Flavia Pennetta and Sam Stosur on Center Court – First ever meeting
TV Schedule
Tennis Channel will be on air with Center Court from 8 AM-5 PM ET and should have coverage of these semifinals.
