Serena Williams is on the verge of reaching her seventh U.S. Open final after dismantling Flavia Pennetta in the quarterfinals. Standing in her way in the semifinals is 17th-seed Ekaterina Makarova ,whose fairytale run in this tournament just keeps getting better with her straight-sets victory over Victoria Azarenka.
Can she pull off another upset and reach her first ever U.S. Open final? Or will Williams’ experience be the telling factor in the match? Read on for a complete preview of this match and while you’re at it you can aslo check out our preview of the men’s semifinal of Kei Nishikori vs. Novak Djokovic.
[sc:MultiSportArticles ]Serena Williams vs. Ekaterina Makarova, 2014 U.S. Open Women’s Singles Semifinals Preview
Where: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York
When: Friday, September 5, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Serena Williams vs. Ekaterina Makarova – view all Women’s Singles U.S. Open Lines
Betting on Serena Williams
Serena Williams wasted no time in dispatching Flavia Pennetta, defeating the Italian in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinal to bring the 32-year-old just two victories away from grabbing her sixth U.S. Open title. Williams overcame a shaky start to blast 31 winners, her best mark in this year’s tournament, in a match that lasted just one hour and three minutes.
[sc:Other240banner ]The world no. 1 is back to her dominant self in this tournament as she has not yet lost a set in her five matches so far. She’s also lost only 22 games through the quarterfinal round and is in great form heading into the semifinals as she bids to become the first woman since Chris Evert (1975-78) to win three consecutive U.S. Open titles.
Surprisingly though, this is Williams’ first Grand Slam semifinal this season. She bowed out in the fourth round of the Australian Open, the second round of the French Open and the third round of Wimbledon earlier this year.
Williams, however, has regained the winning touch, emerging victorious in her last nine games including the Cincinnati Masters final against Ana Ivanovic last month. She enters her semifinal match against Makarova, carrying a 19-match U.S. Open winning streak that dates back to 2012.
Williams owns a 3-1 edge over Makarova in their head-to-head matchup. They have met in the U.S. Open before with Williams destroying the Russian star in a 2012 round of 32 clash in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0.
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Betting on Ekaterina Makarova
Ekaterina Makarova’s giant-killing spree continued on Wednesday afternoon when she defeated two-time U.S. Open finalist Victoria Azarenka in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2 to reach her first ever U.S. Open semifinal.
This was her second consecutive upset victory, following her shock win over seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard in the fourth round. Makarova, one of the tour’s hardest off-court workers, was simply too much for Azarenka who simply had no answer for the Russian’s service game.
Aside from drilling four aces, Makarova also won 81 percent of her first serve points as the 26-year-old Russian made short work of Azarenka in a match that lasted just under one and a half hours.
Makarova has been in excellent form the entire tournament, winning all of her matches without losing a single set. In fact, it has been an incredible 2014 for the left-hander who struggled with his game the past four seasons.
She finally managed to break through this year winning the Thailand Open last February, her first WTA singles title in four seasons. Her magical run in the U.S. Open also ensured that she reached consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals for the first time in her career. And now, she is just two wins away from capturing her first ever Grand Slam title.
She will have to go through one of the all-time greats though in Serena Williams in the semifinal round. Although she trails 1-3 in their head-to-head meetings, she will take comfort in the fact that she has already beaten the 17-time Grand Slam winner before.
That happened two years ago, in the Australian Open no less where she defeated the world no. 1 in the fourth round in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.
Writer’s Prediction
Williams will put an end to Makarova’s dream run and reach her seventh U.S. Open final.
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