Serena Williams stormed into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday with a gritty 6-4 2-6 6-4 victory over Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
The match was a big test for Williams, who was up against one of the few players on the women’s tour capable of matching her power from behind the baseline.
“I’m happy to get through that one,” Williams said in an on-court interview. “It wasn’t easy and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. She was teeing off on every shot.
“Even the games that I lost were super close, one shot here and one shot there, and I just felt like, ‘Serena you’ve got this, you’ve just got to keep going.'”
Sisterly love @Venuseswilliams was in the crowd to cheer on @serenawilliams as she made her way into the quarterfinals #AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/fTsfLxGg1m
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 14, 2021
The players went toe-to-toe in an even first set until Williams pounced late to break Sabalenka for the first time and take a 1-0…