By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, March 29, 2015
Serena Williams smacked seven aces and won 28 of 30 points played on her serve dismissing wild card CiCi Bellis, 6-1, 6-1, at the Miami Open.
Photo credit: AP
Serena Williams' serve looked like a blur as the ball buzzed by and banged off the back wall with a thud.
The seven-time Miami Open champion's eye-popping power left CiCi Bellis describing her first match against her tennis idol as "pretty scary."
More: Serena Sweeps Niculescu in Miami Opener
The world No. 1 says she's a big fan of the 15-year-old wild card. Williams furthered the high school sophomore's professional education dispensing a lesson in baseline aggression today.
Pitching a near shutout on serve, Williams smacked seven aces and won 28 of 30 points on serve in powering past the teenager, 6-1, 6-1, in a 41-minute tennis tutorial.
For the 211th-ranked teenager facing the 19-time Grand Slam champion was both a dream come true — and a reality check.
"I was pretty nervous," Bellis said afterward. "I didn't know how my game would hold up against her, because, you know, I have never played her before. Never really seen her in person. Just on TV. I mean, she's my idol; she's from America; she's No. 1 in the world; she's the best of all time.It's pretty scary playing her."
It was Williams' 14th consecutive Miami Open win as she roared into the round of 16 for the 15th straight time.
Most importantly, Williams is running well and showing no signs of the strained knee that forced her to withdraw from her scheduled Indian Wells' semifinal against No. 3 Simona Halep.
Through two rounds, Williams has permitted just six games and is playing pain-free.
"I have been feeling pretty good, much better than I did in my last tournament," Williams said in her post-match press conference. "I have surpassed my expectations to be honest. When I'm out there I don't feel [knee pain] as much. It feels a little better every day. It's been really good."
Williams played with buzz-kill efficiency overwhelming Bellis and shredding any sense of suspense in this intergenerational all-American clash.
The top seed onceded afterward she didn't exactly enjoy administering a thrashing to an exuberant opponent 18 years her junior.
Serena says she's a CiCi fan, too.
"It wasn't like 'Oh, I'm so happy to win this match,' " Williams said in her post-match press conference. "Yeah, it was tough. I think she's young and her being an American and her just doing so well, you want to see people like her doing well. So when you're up against them, you have to kind of put that aside. Even though I'm always cheering for her. Otherwise, I have to put it aside and play the match."
The 33-year-old Williams owns title trophies older than her teenage opponent. In fact, when a 17-year-old Williams beat three future Hall of Famers in succession — Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis — to capture her first Grand Slam in the 1999 U.S. Open at the age of 17, Bellis was all of five months old.
"I thought it was crazy coming into this tournament and seeing the draw and like even playing in this tournament, let alone like being my age playing Serena Williams," Bellis said afterward. "I didn't think I was ever going to play her because I thought that I wasn't ever — I mean, I thought that maybe I could be at that level, but I didn't think I was ever going to, you know, to play her and be in the same part of a draw as her. I mean, that's crazy like thinking of that."
It was quickly apparent, the top seed simply had too much game for the nervous teenager, making her debut on Crandon Park stadium court. Williams breezed through 12 of the first 13 games throwing down successive love holds for a 3-0 lead.
Bellis reads the court well for a player so young, but she struggled trying to change direction against the oncoming baseline blasts. Bellis double faulted to drop serve for 1-5. Williams served out the 21-minute opener at love losing just seven points in the set.
Bellis, who signaled her status as a young player with great promise when she rallied to upset 2014 Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova at the U.S. Open last summer, did have a couple of moments to smile about.
The feisty 5-foot-5 Californian aced Williams at one point. In the sixth game of the second set, Williams struck a backhand volley and Bellis answered with a backhand pass down the line. That sequence drew a supportive cheer from the crowd and prompted an appreciative gigle from Bellis.
"Smile" a fan yelled in encouragement.
Williams responded sliding an ace down the middle than blasting a backhand winner to seize a 6-1, 5-1 stronghold. She closed with a warm handshake, telling Bellis "Thank you, good match" before taking a customary victory twirl after 41 minutes of work.
The seven-time Miami Open champion rolled into a round of 16 meeting with old rival Svetlana Kuznetsova. The 24th-seeded Russian converted six of 18 break points in grinding past No. 13 seed Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Williams has won seven of nine meetings with Kuznetsova.