‘It felt good to kind of clutch that in the end,’ says Serena Williams after battling past Aryna Sabalenka

Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka both survived close battles to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
Third seed and title favourite Osaka saved two match points on her way to a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over last year’s runner-up Garbine Muguruza while Williams was a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 winner against Aryna Sabalenka.
Seventh seed Sabalenka has been one of the form players of the last few months and many people have been waiting for the big-hitting Belarusian to make a grand slam breakthrough.
.@serenawilliams fights on! 👑
Serena defeats a gallant Sabalenka 6-4 2-6 6-4 in one of the most intense matches of the tournament 👏 #AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/lvZBwD3ntJ
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 14, 2021
She fought back from 1-4 to draw level in the final set but Williams was just too strong in the end.
The 39-year-old, who is now again within touching distance of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, said: “It felt good to kind of clutch that in the end and get through that.
“I just felt like even games that I lost, I was so close to winning. Not all games, but probably most of those games. I just needed to play better on the big points. I knew that I could. I still hadn’t reached my peak. I was like, ‘OK, Serena, you got this, just keep going’.”

Osaka hung on by the skin of her teeth against Muguruza, who was full of confidence after a strong start to the season.
The Spaniard led by a set and a break and held two match points at 5-3 in the deciding set only for Osaka, the 2019 champion in Melbourne, to pull through with a run of four games in a row.
Asked how she had dug herself out of trouble, the Japanese star said: “I’m not really sure, to be honest. I was just trying to fight for every point, then it sort of led me to win.
Keep on keeping on. pic.twitter.com/g3TITAVcbP
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) February 14, 2021
“On the first match point, I was just thinking that I didn’t hit a decent serve that entire game, so I should really focus on my serve. I feel like my serve stats were pretty good that set, so I was just telling myself to do better.
“Then on the second point, when the rally started, I just told myself not to push (the ball) but also don’t do something crazy and make a really bad unforced error.”
Osaka also credited a brief moment of temper for clearing her mind, saying: “I felt the entire match I was overthinking. There was a moment when I got angry and hit my racquet on the ground. I feel like I released a lot of the thoughts that I had. It just made me go more into instinct-based tennis.”

Osaka will next face the highly unconventional Hsieh Su-wei, who at 35 became the oldest player to reach a first slam quarter-final in the Open era with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Marketa Vondrousova.
Follow us on Twitter @T365Official and like our Facebook page.
Latest
-
News
Casper Ruud out to emulate Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem
Casper Ruud believes he can win on any surface.
-
Wimbledon
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina begs Wimbledon to maintain ban on Russian and Belarusian players
Elina Svitolina has begged Wimbledon to maintain the ban.
-
Australian Open
Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open win was a ratings flop for American TV
ESPN have released their viewing figures for the Australian Open final and they suggest just 439,000 viewers watched in America.
-
ATP Tour
Felix Auger-Aliassime backed to win Wimbledon in 2023
Felix Auger-Aliassime has been backed to make his Grand Slam breakthrough in 2023.
-
News
Serena Williams opens up on Will Smith’s Oscar slap
Serena Williams says that we are all human and make mistakes in the heat of the moment.
-
Tennis News
Nick Kyrgios escapes conviction despite pleading guilty to assaulting ex-girlfriend
Nick Kyrgios saw the common assault charge against him dismissed.
-
Davis Cup
Great Britain braced for ‘complicated’ Davis Cup qualifier in Colombia
Matches will be played at an altitude of 2,600 metres and with pressureless balls.
-
WTA Tour
Heather Watson ends her quarter-final drought with win in Thailand – ‘It was just survival of the fittest’
Heather Watson will now face Chinese seventh seed Xinyu Wang.
-
Tennis News
Toni Nadal shares thoughts on fans’ hostility toward Novak Djokovic as well as Rafael Nadal’s future
Toni Nadal on why Novak Djokovic has so many detractors.
-
Tennis News
Stunning LTA numbers confirm tennis participation is booming in Britain
New figures have revealed that there has been a 47 per-cent increase in tennis participation in clubs and parks across Britain.