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Serena Williams eases into Australian Open quarterfinals

By The Sports Xchange
Serena Williams posted a 7-5, 6-4 win over 16th-seeded Barbora Strycova in a fourth-round match Monday at Melbourne, Australia. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Serena Williams posted a 7-5, 6-4 win over 16th-seeded Barbora Strycova in a fourth-round match Monday at Melbourne, Australia. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Serena Williams struggled with her serve but still managed to advance to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.

The second-seeded American posted a 7-5, 6-4 win over 16th-seeded Barbora Strycova in a fourth-round match Monday at Melbourne, Australia.

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"She's a really smart player; she can do pretty much everything," Williams said of her Czech opponent. "It was a really good match for me and I'm glad I came through it."

Each of the first four games of the match resulted in a break of serve, and Strycova took the lead again with a third break before Williams responded. Still, the six-time Australian Open champion didn't close out the set until her eighth set point.

Williams wound up with four aces against three double faults. She put just 45 percent of her first serves in play, and she won only 32 of 60 service points overall (53.3 percent).

"It's good to know I have a plan B or option two," Williams said. "I wasn't serving my greatest but she was also putting a lot of returns in there."

Strycova was on the mark on 65 percent of her first serves, but she was successful on just 38 of 77 service points overall (49.4 percent).

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Next up for Williams is a quarterfinal matchup with either ninth-seeded Johanna Konta of Great Britain or 30th-seeded Ekaterina Makarova of Russia.

The fourth round was due to be completed later Monday. Fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic was scheduled to oppose 22nd-seeded Daria Gavrilova, the last Australian women vying for the title in her home nation. American qualifier Jennifer Brady was set to face Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia in a battle of unseeded players.

The other half of bracket saw two American women, Coco Vandeweghe and 13th-seeded Venus Williams, advance to the quarterfinals with Sunday wins.

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