New York, Sept 2:
Defending champion Serena Williams won her much-anticipated US Open showdown with Sloane Stephens while Li Na avenged a painful loss in Rome to join the world number one in the last eight.
Williams defeated US 15th seed Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-1 to reach the US Open quarter-finals, winning eight of the last nine game in avenging a loss that ousted her from the 2013 Australian Open.
“It definitely felt like a bigger match because Sloane is such a great player, but I had to stay focused in the moment,” Williams said. “I just tried the whole time to do what I wanted to, stay calm and stay relaxed.”
Williams booked a quarter-final against Spanish 18th seed Carla Suarez Navarro, who upset German eighth seed Angelique Kerber 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
Also booking a quarter-final matchup were Chinese fifth seed Li, who beat Serbian ninth seed Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-0, and Russian 24th seed Ekaterina Makarova, who upset Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-4.
Li, the 2011 French Open champion, matched her best US Open result by reaching the last eight.
“Maybe today was the best match of my whole life,” Li said, adding her strategy against Makarova would be to “Play aggressive. I wish I can play the same level like today.” (AGENCIES)
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