Serena Williams proved Friday she is no fluke. For the second night in a row, the acrobatic teenager from Florida upset one of the world’s top-ranked tennis stars.
Williams, at 16 one year younger than her sister, U.S. Open runner-up Venus, upset fifth-ranked Mary Pierce on Thursday. And Friday, she stepped up in class.
In the quarterfinals of the $450,000 Ameritech Cup at the UIC Pavilion, Williams took on No. 2 seed Monica Seles, winner of 41 pro tournaments, nine of them Grand Slam events. Seles is ranked No. 4 in the world, Williams No. 304. Seles is 355-50 as a pro. Williams is 7-5.
None of this fazed the relentless high schooler from Palm Beach Gardens, who reached Saturday’s semifinal with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory.
“I want to win every point,” said Williams. “I reached a lot of balls she hit that other players would not reach. One even surprised me. I ran way over the forehand side and angled it back behind her.”
Seles reacted to Williams’ remarkable “gets,” like a fighter who delivers knockout punches only to see the opponent upright and coming back for more.
“She’s a great athlete,” said Seles. “She won those long games and that kind of set the momentum.”
Williams won the long deuce games that usually go to the more experienced player. She held serve in a 16-point game to go up 4-3 in the first set. She broke Seles in the decisive 16-point second game in the second set. She broke Seles again for a 2-1 lead in the 14-point third game in the final set.
