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By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, January 27, 2015

 
Serena Williams

Serena Williams hit 31 winners, including 15 aces, dismissing Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-2, in 65 minutes.

Photo credit: corleve

A hacking cough, apparent chest cold and sluggish footwork all conspired to create an achy malaise in Serena Williams as she trudged through opening week of the Australian Open.

The world No. 1 was stricken by illness and fatigue for the quarterfinals. Serena looked sick and tired of early exits in Melbourne.

And she wasn't about to let a nagging cold or a scrappy Dominika Cibulkova stall her semifinal return.

Williams fired 15 aces, moved fluidly and dissected the court with sharp angles dispatching Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-2, to surge into the Australian Open semifinals for the first time in five years.

More: Madison Keys Beats Venus to reach First Grand Slam Semifinal

A free-flowing Williams played her most complete match of the tournament to set up a blockbuster semifinal with compatriot Madison Keys. The unseeded teenager defeated 18th-seeded Venus Williams, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.

It is the first all-American Australian Open semifinal since 2001 when Jennifer Capriati beat Lindsay Davenport, who is now coaching Keys.

Plagued by listless starts in her last three matches, Williams was in no mood for drama. She broke at 15 for a 2-1 lead, then impressed power and placement on the 2014 runner-up. Thumping a 121 mph ace off the back wall for game point, Williams hit behind the speedy Cibulkova to open the court then plastered a forehand winner crosscourt, celebrating a 3-1 lead with a raised fist.

Feisty and fearless, Cibulkova plays points like she's got a point to prove. The 5'3" Slovak straddles the baseline, times the ball beautifully and can crack the ball into the corners. Cibulkova's serve isn't heavy enough to trouble Williams, who dialed in her forehand return to score her second straight break for 4-1.

Pounding a pair of aces to open the sixth game, Williams issued a love hold for 5-1. Watching Williams through the early stages of the tournament was like watching a pop star rehearsing new choreography for a hit song. Today, the rhythm of her service motion clicked, the electric power flowed and Serena pumped the performance up to another level. Three aces in a row, including a 124 mph blast and a slider down the middle sealed the 28-minute opener.

Breaking to open the second set, Williams backed up the break for 2-0.

Credit Cibulkova for her defiance against an opponent who does everything better. The No. 11 seed earned two break points in the fourth game — her only break points of the match — but Williams exploited Cibulkova's restricted reach twisting three straight unreturnable slice serves in holding for 3-1.

Changing up the pace of both her serve and strokes, Williams sometimes working the width of the court with the sharp-angled backhand to stretch Cibulkova and set up her down the line drives. Crunching a forehand return winner down the line, the top seed broke again for 5-2 and never looked back, closing with a wide smile of satisfaction.

Williams more than doubled Cibulkova's winner output (31 to 13), struck with accuracy on the run and dotted all areas of the box with a variety of spins on serve. She'll need all of it against the explosive Keys, one of the few women in the world who can match Serena's power on serve and from the baseline.



 

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