Five-time champion Serena Williams took care of business Saturday, booking her fourth-round berth at the US Open with a straight-sets win over her former practice partner Varvara Lepchenko
Serena Williams and Eugenie Bouchard
New York: Five-time champion Serena Williams took care of business Saturday, booking her fourth-round berth at the US Open with a straight-sets win over her former practice partner Varvara Lepchenko.
Serena Williams and Eugenie Bouchard
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Williams, who has so-far failed to add to her cache of 17 Grand Slam titles this year, is taking her last chance to do so seriously.
Known for her forays in to fashion and entertainment, Williams said this trip to New York was all about tennis, not only her bid for a third straight singles title but also her doubles campaign with sister Venus.
"While we're here, we're just focused on the tournament," Williams said. "We're practicing. We're not necessarily having fun. This is our job. We train really hard for it."
Although she hasn't won a major this year, Williams arrived in New York having won her fourth and fifth titles at Stanford and Cincinnati.
She dropped just five games total in getting past compatriots Taylor Townsend and Vania King in the first and second rounds, but found the going tougher in a 6-3, 6-3 win over Lepchenko.
"My opponent today was spectacular. It was a really tough match and it just shows how far Varvara has come," she said.
Meanwhile, Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard turned back the challenge of determined Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova to reach the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday.
The seventh seed overcame 39 unforced errors to beat Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 6-7 (2/7) 6-4 and book a last-16 clash with Makarova.