In the first women’s singles semifinals of the day, 2nd seed Maria Sharapova brushed past 10th seed and fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova, easily taking the match, 6-3, 6-2. Having won all of their five previous outings, Sharapova had all the confidence in the world that she could enter the 10th Grand Slam final of her career, and did she do it in an emphatic manner.
The first set saw her hit a total of 15 winners, as compared to Makarova’s only five. Aggressive net play was also seen from Sharapova, having won 100% of her net points and she pocketed the first set in just 48 minutes. The second set was an even more comfortable task for her as she was able break to Makarova’s service games, giving her the early 4-0 lead. From there, an exchange of holds from both players eventually resulted in an easy win for the top Russian player in a total of one hour and 27 minutes.
“It’s been a strange road to the final, but I’m happy to be here,” Sharapova said in a post-game interview. When asked about how she was almost knocked out of the tournament after having to save two match points in her 2nd round match against another Russian Alexandra Panova, she added, "After I got out of that one, I felt like I was given a second chance at this tournament. I don't know why, but I'll take my chances now."
Meanwhile, in the other women’s semifinal, and an all-American one this time, top seed Serena Williams proved to be too tough for the rising teen Madison Keys, winning the match after one hour and 24 minutes, 7-6(5), 6-2. Both players showcased great services and strong hitting but in the end, the four-time Australian Open champion managed to seal the deal despite being under the weather [for the past few days].
The 19-year-old had an early break at the beginning of the match, but couldn’t hold her ground as Williams got the break back to even the match at 3-3. After a series of holds, the first set entered into a tiebreak, where Keys committed errors that eventually handed the set to her opponent. The youngster had more errors than winners, in fact, with 18 and 16 respectively.
The second set showed more of the Serena Williams that we know, as she raced on to an early 5-1 lead. Keys showed some extreme determination and resilience, however, in the 7th game of the set as she was able to save seven match points. In the end, despite the fact that Keys hit more winners against Williams (27 against 19), her 38 unforced errors proved to be too costly as Williams was able to win it on her 9th match point.
It will be an interesting final, for sure, as this will be the first time since 2004 that the top two seeds for the women’s draw advance to the last stage of the tournament. Interestingly enough, Williams lead their head-to-head with a huge 16-2 lead, and is currently on a 15-match winning streak against Sharapova.
The night match featured the first semifinal of the men’s draw, with the 6th seed Andy Murray winning over 7th seed Tomas Berdych, 6(6)-7, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5. It was a slow start for the British number one as he lost the first set tiebreaker but managed to make himself comfortable in the match, even being able to serve a bagel set for Berdych, after the Czech has won 16 consecutive sets in the tournament.
The beginning of the third set saw both players comfortably getting their holds, until Murray was able to edge Berdych out to gain a 4-2 lead. With some well-placed and angled shots, the Brit took the 3rd set and the driver’s seat for the match. The 4th one proved to be another close one, though, as both players were locked in at 5-5. However, when it counted most, Berdych committed a series of errors to hand Murray the break and the 6-5 lead. The 6th seed never looked back as a crosscourt forehand attack and service ace combination sealed the deal for him to enter his 4th Australian Open final.
In what could possibly be one of the most interesting post-match on-court interviews, Murray admitted that the atmosphere for the match was a bit more tensed than normal, even commenting that he found it unfair how Daniel Vallverdu chose to be Berdych’s mentor now. He also thanked Coach Amelie Mauresmo for “being brave” [for taking the role as his coach] and commented that “women can be very good coaches too,” to the delight of the crowd and his mentor, of course.
Murray is definitely looking strong in this tournament and is clearly playing at a much higher level of tennis as compared to his performances for the past few months. Whoever he will face in the final – be it the Djoker or the Stanimal – will surely have a run for their money.