While Serena Williams’ 6-0, 6-0 drubbing of 82nd ranked Andrea Hlavackova to advance to the quarterfinals of the US Open was far from a tough task, things were even easier for world No.1 Roger Federer.
Federer advanced after 23rd seed Mardy Fish pulled out of his fourth-round match against Federer for health reasons. Following the medical advice of his doctors, Fish withdrew after he needed to receive medical treatment after his third-round match lasted over three hours.
Fish missed almost two months this season due to an accelerated heartbeat and didn’t want to risk further complications.
Federer released a statement wishing Fish the best, “I am really sorry for Mardy. I just want to wish I’m a speedy recovery, we all want to see him back on tour soon.”
While Williams had to actually play to advance, she made sure not to give her opponent any room to breath.
“She was fighting really hard,” Williams said. “The match is never over until you shake hands. There is always a comeback available. So I didn’t want to give her that opportunity to try to come back, especially her in particular. She was getting so pumped up and she never gave up. I thought that was really incredibly positive.”
Williams overpowered her opponent the entire match, setting the tone on the first point of the match when she returned Hlavackova’s 88 mph serve with a 100 mph forehand.
The forehand certainly caught Hlavackova’s attention, who said, “When I served, and she returned, like, a 100 mph forehand return, I was like, ‘OK, I know who I’m playing. You don’t have to prove it to me. I know.”
Williams will face 12th seeded Ana Ivanovic, a former world number one who won the French Open in 2008.
Meanwhile, after winning the doubles championship at Wimbeldon and the gold medal at the London Olympics, Serena and Venus Williams lost their third-round match to the fourth-seeded Russian pair of Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova, 6-1, 6-4.
