Olympic Tennis - Serena Williams vs. Victoria Azarenka (13:30 BST)

Visit Save For Later

by Crunch Sports Staff

Posted

Serena Williams (credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Serena Williams takes on Victoria Azarenka this afternoon in the semi-finals of the women's singles at the London 2012 Olympic Games (13:30 BST start).

Serena crushed Azarenka last month on the way to her fifth Wimbledon title, and the Belarussian will have to produce something special to avoid a similar fate on Centre Court later today as Williams has been looking onimously good so far.

The American destroyed poor Caroline Wozniacki 6-0 6-3 in the quarter-finals on Thursday and is relishing the chance to take on Azarenka again. And why not - she leads their head-to-head 8-1 and has beaten her twice in straight sets this year.

Azarenka has struggled to recapture the form which saw her go unbeaten until the end of March, but she's become an expert in producing her best at exactly the right time during her rise to the top of the rankings, and she upped her game at the end of both sets to see off Angelique Kerber 6-4 7-5.

"We had the longest rallies. At one point I just couldn't believe when it was going to be over during the point," said Azarenka yesterday.

"It was a really tough one, a very good match from both of us. We showed very high quality tennis and a big fight today, and there's nothing more that you could ask from both of us.

"It was important to take command first and stay aggressive. It was very difficult to do it all the time against her, but in the end I think I got it the most."

Look forward Serena to advance to the gold medal match.

Prediction: Williams in two.

Like Like

All Tennis News

Recent Tennis Articles

ATP Rome - Roger Federer thrashed by Rafael Nadal in Rome Masters final21 May 2013
Roger Federer was handed another clay-court masterclass courtesy of Rafael Nadal on Sunday in the final of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. Nadal was in a class of his own in Rome and handed Federer one of the most one-sided beatings of his career to clinch his seventh t...
Serena Williams crushes Victoria Azarenka in WTA Rome final21 May 2013
Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka to win the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia on Sunday. Serena smashed 41 winners past Azarenka in Rome to claim her fifth title of the year and her third on clay, taking her winning streak to 24 matches. It wasn't quite as easy as the 6-1 6-3 scoreline su...
Updated ATP rankings for May 20th 201321 May 2013
Novak Djokovic remains world No.1 in the latest ATP tennis rankings, ahead of Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Nadal is back up to fourth in the world, leapfrogging David Federer after seeing off Federer in the final of the Rome Masters on Sunday. Nadal cruised to a superb 6-1 6-3 win o...
Novak Djokovic insists he can win the 2013 French Open20 May 2013
Novak Djokovic is looking to put last week's Rome Masters disappoint behind him, and the world No. 1 believes he can go the distance at this year's French Open. Djokovic held a 6-2 5-2 lead against Tomas Berdych on Friday at the Rome Masters, but incredibly fell victim to an outstanding comeba...
Andy Murray could miss 2013 French Open to focus on Wimbledon19 May 2013
Andy Murray could withdraw from the 2013 French Open in a bid to avoid jeopardising his chances at Wimbledon by returning too quickly. Judy Murray has revealed that her son's main priority this summer is Wimbledon after the Scot had to pull out of the Rome Masters this week due to a back problem, w...
Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal - Live Stream and ATP Rome final preview19 May 2013
Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal takes place this afternoon in the final of the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome.The ATP Rome final takes place at Foro Italico and is scheduled to start at 16:00 BST.In the United Kingdom, Federer vs. Nadal airs live on Sky Sports 4/Sky Sports 4 HD, while the ...
Serena Williams vs. Victoria Azarenka preview - Serena faces Azarenka in WTA Rome final19 May 2013
Serena Williams takes on Victoria Azarenka this afternoon in the final of the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome (12:30 BST start). Serena is looking unstoppable at the moment and she predictably extended her winning streak to 23 matches with a 6-3 6-0 win over Simona Halep in Saturday' semi-...
French Open 2013 - Rafael Nadal in superb form ahead of this year's French Open18 May 2013
The 2013 French Open is fast approaching and Rafael Nadal is in great form ahead of the start of play at Roland Garros, leading to many questioning whether anybody can stop the Spaniard from winning another Grand Slam title in Paris.Things can change very quickly in tennis. Just a few weeks ago, ...
Roger Federer vs. Benoit Paire preview - Federer out to make Rome Masters final18 May 2013
Roger Federer takes on Benoit Paire tonight in the semi-finals of the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome (19:00 BST start). Federer has been playing with a point to prove all week after his disappointment at the Madrid Masters. He's been dispatching opponents with the authority of old, and it...

Recent Articles

Mourinho to Chelsea FC? Neymar to FC Barcelona? Negredo to Arsenal FC? Tuesday's transfer round-up1 hour 58 minutes ago
Tuesday's round up of the top transfer stories from the past 24 hours... - Real Madrid on Monday night confirmed that Jose Mourinho, who is widely expected to return to Chelsea this summer, will leave them at the end of the season. - And Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that he wants to leave Paris Sa...
Atletico Madrid to let Chelsea FC, Man Utd target Radamel Falcao leave this summer21 May 2013
Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao, who has been linked with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United, is set to leave the club this summer. Falcao has been linked with a number of top clubs from across Europe in recent weeks and is widely believed to be Chelsea's top summer transfer target. ...
Chelsea FC won't let go of Romelu Lukaku this summer - Ben Foster21 May 2013
West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster believes Chelsea would be "fools" not to keep hold of Romelu Lukaku next season. Lukaku has just enjoyed a season-long loan spell with the Baggies and was a regular in the starting line-up for most of the campaign. The Belgium international ended his year at The Hawt...
Real Madrid CF confirm Jose Mourinho departure as Chelsea FC return edges closer21 May 2013
Real Madrid on Monday night confirmed that Jose Mourinho, who is widely expected to return to Chelsea this summer, will leave them at the end of the season. Rafael Benitez will leave Chelsea after the club's post-season tour of the United States and Mourinho is the bookmakers' favourite to be insta...
Shinji Kagawa praises Sir Alex Ferguson following Man Utd manager's retirement21 May 2013
Shinji Kagawa believes Sir Alex Ferguson is in a "class of his own" and wishes he could have played under the retiring Manchester United manager for more than one season.Kagawa moved to Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund last summer, and although until recently he had struggled to produc...
Hamburg insist Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC yet to table bid for Son Heung-Min21 May 2013
Hamburg are yet to receive any bids for Son Heung-Min, who has been linked with the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, coach Thorsten Fink has insisted.Reports towards the end of last year suggested Son, who is out of contract at the end of next season, was on Liverpool's radar...
Roger Federer admits Rafael Nadal was too good for him following Rome Masters defeat21 May 2013
Roger Federer admitted he was beaten by the better man following Rafael Nadal's straight sets win on Sunday in the final of the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. Federer is still waiting to win his first ATP title of 2013 after a pretty one-sided 6-1 6-3 rout at the hands of his great ...
Man Utd striker Robin van Persie backs David Moyes to be a success21 May 2013
Manchester United striker Robin van Persie has backed incoming manager David Moyes to be a success at the club.Moyes was confirmed as United's new manager last week and has agreed a six-year deal to replace Sir Alex Ferguson, who retired after the Red Devils' incredible 5-5 draw with West Brom on S...
Top 5 Chelsea FC transfer targets - Rooney, Ronaldo, Gomez, Khedira, McCarthy21 May 2013
Jose Mourinho will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season and is widely expected to return to Chelsea this summer. With the 'Special One' set to return to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are set to splash the cash during the summer transfer window, and writer Thomas Rooney looks at five pla...