Serena Williams Advances To Her 50th Grand Slam Quarterfinal
"I’m such a fighter. I just never give up."
In Melbourne, Australia, Serena Williams kicked off her week by solidifying her spot in the Australian Open’s quarterfinal, Reuters reports. On Monday evening (Jan. 21), the acclaimed champion defeated professional tennis’ No. 1 player Simona Halep (6-1, 4-6, 6-4). According to various news reports, the match tested each opponent’s athletic ability, with both vying to remain in the tournament by serving high power aces; on Williams’ end she landed nine.
“In order for me to stay out there, I had to play a little like I knew I could. I’m such a fighter. I just never give up,” Williams said. “It’s definitely something that’s innate. I just work so hard for every point.” On Halep’s side, she told reporters the whole exhibition came as fast as the speed of light. “I felt like I had been hit by a train in the first set,” Halep said. “Everything was too fast.”
As the Australian Open is the first Grand Slam exhibition to kick off pro-tennis’ season (French Open, Wimbledon, US Open), Williams is back on a renewed quest to add to her trophy case after losing 2018’s US Open final to Naomi Osaka. After giving birth to her first child in late 2017, Williams was back to work three months later.
In an interview with Vogue, Williams admitted that leaving tennis behind to be a full-time mom sounds enticing, but she’s on track to attain 25 single Grand Slam titles, a feat that would shatter the record held by Margaret Court with 24 conquests to her name.
“To be honest, there’s something really attractive about the idea of moving to San Francisco and just being a mom,” she said. “But not yet. Maybe this goes without saying, but it needs to be said in a powerful way: I absolutely want more Grand Slams. I’m well aware of the record books, unfortunately. It’s not a secret that I have my sights set on 25.”
Williams will take on No. 7 Karolina Pliskova on Tuesday (Jan. 22).
