Venus turns on the style
Venus Williams cruised into the fourth round of Wimbledon as she mercilessly put Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez to the sword with a 6-0 6-2 win on Court One.
Questions over Williams’ ability to still mix it with the best were raised as she struggled in her previous round against Kimiko Date-Krumm, but the American looked back to her best today, delighting a packed crowd with a brutal and clinical display.
The 31-year-old, who has just come through a lengthy injury absence, bludgeoned her way to a faultless first-set whitewash and gave her opponent no chance in the second to set up a last-16 clash with the woman who knocked her out here last year – Tsvetana Pironkova.
Williams began her second-round tie slowly, losing the first set to Date-Krumm, but she came flying out of the blocks in emphatic fashion today, losing just 13 points on her way to taking the first set in 27 minutes.
The five-time champion, in the same lacy outfit she had worn for her previous two games, powered home her first service game before Martinez Sanchez gifted her a break with a double fault.
It was soon 3-0 as Williams held before attacking the Spaniard’s serve, moving to the net to dominate the game with punishing volleys.
The 31-year-old broke to 15 in the fourth before she overcame a brief wobble, rescuing two break points, to move 5-0 up.
Williams upped her power and raised the decibel levels as she grunted her way to victory in the sixth game, winning a third break point.
Thirty-seven minutes had passed before Martinez Sanchez won her first game, clinching the second of the second set, but only after saving two break points as Williams made light work of her opponent’s weak serve.
Martinez Sanchez scampered across court trying to fend off the American’s brute force there was little point. The Spaniard looked to hold her second service game of the match, but the ease with which Williams dispatched an elegant backhand from a full-blooded Martinez Sanchez serve highlighted the huge gap in quality between the two.
The Florida resident moved 3-1 ahead, but Martinez Sanchez defied the odds to break Williams’ serve after she flashed a backhand wide.
The advantage swung back the favourite’s way immediately though thanks to a blistering forehand.
Urged on by her mother and father, Williams powered down her fifth ace of the match to leave Martinez Sanchez serving to delay her defeat.
The underdog went on the offensive, heading straight to the net, but Williams responded with two glorious baseline strokes before a miscued backhand from the Spaniard sealed Williams’ comprehensive victory in just over an hour.
