Serena Williams formidable against Halep, moves to semifinals

Serena Williams reached the Australian Open semifinal after defeating Simona Halep in straight sets.

It was a vintage Serena performance where she was able to navigate past a very tricky Simona who did not give up so easily. It took about 80 minutes for Serena to win the match 6-3 6-4. The opening set was an interesting one where Serena broke Halep immediately taking a 2-0 lead but the Romanian fired back quickly to make it 2-2. Nonetheless, it was Serena who kept up the pressure breaking Simona once more to take a 5-2 lead. From there it was a rather easy job for the American to clinch the opening set 6-3. Her aggressive playstyle proved key as she hit 14 winners to Halep's 4.

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The 2nd set opened much better for Simona despite some early struggles on her opening service games. She found herself up 2-0 and it seemed she was back in business. After that, a proper battle ensued where we saw three breaks in a row which made the scoreline 3-3. It was a time for Halep to serve again but similar to the past two times she did she could not convert it and Serena was on top 4-3. She confirmed the break to make it 5-3 and it seemed like Serena was inches away from the semifinals.

In the end, she closed it out with another break to win the match 6-3 6-3 in about 80 minutes of play. A truly stunning display of tennis from Serena who dominated her opponent in rallies hitting double the number of winners. Her consistent play on her serve also proved key.

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Making 💯 A 💯 Statement 💯 🇺🇸 @serenawilliams advances to her 9️⃣th #AusOpen semifinal. 🇯🇵 Naomi Osaka awaits. #AO2021

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