Serena, Sharapova Both Routed at Madrid Open

May 8, 2015 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Serena_Williams (17)
Calvin Rhoden

Defending champion Maria Sharapova and world number one Serena Williams were both ousted in the Mutua Madrid Open semifinals on Friday, each bowing out in straight sets.

In the first semi, the third-seeded Sharapova took on fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was by far the aggressor from the start.

She proceeded to pounce on Sharapova’s serve and control the pace of play, which pushed her to a 3-1 advantage early in the first set. She would conjure up another break later in the set to roll to a 6-2 first set victory.

While Sharapova’s form picked up in the second, it was Kuznetsova who managed to secure the early break point, taking advantage of a Sharapova error to take a 3-2 lead. Needing just her serve to close out the match, Kuznetsova held in her next three service games to take down her compatriot in straight sets.

“I feel very happy, it was a very tough match,” said Kuznetsova. “I was playing good, serving good—everything was working well.”

Kuznetsova played a solid match, especially on serve. She saved the only break point she faced and punished Sharapova on her first serve, winning nearly 75 percent of the points on her first serve.

In the final, Kuznetsova will take on fourth-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova, who became the first player to beat Serena Williams in 2015, downing the American 6-2, 6-3.

Kvitova snapped Serena’s 27-match winning streak overall, and her 50-match winning streak at Premier Mandatory-level events, a streak that goes back to the 2012 Miami Open.

The Czech was just sharper than Williams from the onset and the stats prove that. She had 25 winners to just 14 unforced errors, while Williams had only 17 winners to go along with 29 unforced errors.

Kvitova saved four of six break point chances, and despite letting a 5-1 second set lead slip to 5-3, seemed to have no real problem closing Serena out in one hour and 13 minutes.

“For sure I’m happy I won today,” said Kvitova, who had lost the five previous meetings with Serena. “I had never beaten her, so it’s a really special moment for me.”

Kvitova holds a 3-1 career record over Kuznetsova, although the Russian won the most recent meeting at last year’s French Open. 


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Centercourt
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