The Williams clan is a pretty happy bunch right now. Not only did tennis legend Serena give birth to her first child Friday, Venus also recorded her 74th career win at the US Open. With her 6-3, 6-4 victory over Maria Sakkari in the third round, Venus broke a tie with the great Steffi Graf for fourth most wins by a woman in the Open era.
What’s surprising about Venus even in this late stage of her career is her consistency. She has now reached the second week in each of her last seven Grand Slam tournaments, the longest active streak in women’s tennis. It’s the first time since 2010 that Venus has reached the fourth round in every major. The No. 9 seed will look to keep the momentum going when she takes on Carla Suarez Navarro in the round of 16.
This will be the eighth meeting between Williams and Suarez Navarro in the WTA Tour with the American holding a slim 4-3 advantage. Williams has prevailed, however, in each of their last two meetings so the momentum is with her heading into Saturday’s crunch matchup. For Williams to grab the victory this coming weekend, she needs to continue her solid return play and put pressure on Suarez Navarro’s serve. Williams won 50 percent of her receiving points in the third round against Sakkari with the two-time US Open champion converting four of her eight break point chances.
Carla Suarez Navarro barged into the fourth round of the 2017 US Open with a thrilling 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Ekaterina Makarova on Friday. It was an impressive showing from Suarez Navarro who needed one hour and 41 minutes to eliminate the 29-year-old Russian. Just like in her previous two matches, Suarez Navarro’s serve was the main difference once again. She won 61 percent of her first serve points in the straight-sets win against Makarova.
Suarez Navarro will look to continue her excellent form in the round of 16 when she takes on Venus Williams. Yes, she’s just 1-2 against Williams in their head-to-head matchup in Grand Slams but her lone victory against the world No. 9 came at the hallowed grounds of Melbourne Park. Suarez defeated Williams in the second round of the 2009 Australian Open, 2-6, 6-3. 7-5. That’s the only meeting between the two stars on the hard courts in a Grand Slam setting.
Suarez Navarro’s return was exceptional in that contest and she will need that same kind of receiving performance this coming Saturday for her to shock Williams. The good news for the Spaniard is that she’s doing quite well in that department in this tournament. Suarez Navarro won 49 percent of her receiving points in the win against Makarova with the Las Palmas native winning five of her seven break point opportunities. Williams’ serve in this tournament has been shaky as well so the American is ripe for an upset this coming weekend.
Writer’s Prediction
Williams (-225) survives Suarez Navarro in a three-set thriller.
