World number one Serena Williams has set her foot in the semi finals of the Mutua Madrid Open after beating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3 on Thursday; extending her winning streak at Premier Mandatory events to 50 in a row.
Williams, a two-time champion in Madrid, broke the Spaniard’s serve four times and took control of her composure to save three break points. The American had never lost to Suarez Navarro in their five previous meetings.
Williams will next face fourth seed Petra Kvitova. The Czech Wimbledon champion breezed past unseeded Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu, who was competing to her first premier event quarter-final, with 7-5, 6-3 win.
Joining Williams and Kvitova in the semis are Russians Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Sharapova secured her spot in the last four for a third consecutive year after defeating Dane Caroline Wozniacki 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Kuznetsova was engaged in an intense three-hour battle against Czech Lucie Safarova and managed to bag her first semi-final appearance since last July after winning 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3).
Sharapova, currently ranked number three in the world, will return to number two behind Serena Williams if she reaches the final.
Photo credits: ctwnews.asia
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