The American, who plays Daniela Hantuchova next after storming to victory in only an hour, has hit an unprecedented peak of excellence and appears unstoppable
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Only Serena Williams could say without laughing, "I never look at the draw – ever, ever, ever."
Of course, as the finest player in the women's game since Steffi Graf, she does not have to. She barely had to look across the net to see who her opponent was on day three of the Australian Open, either, dismissing poor Vesna Dolonc in an hour, then eschewing an ice bath, despite the heat that seems to be reducing nearly everyone else within a hundred miles of Melbourne to molten misery. "I really hate ice baths," she said courtside.
So, in case she is wondering, Williams next plays Daniela Hantuchova, who just after Christmas in Brisbane lost to the Australian teenager Ashleigh Barty (who lost to Williams in the first round here) and who this week beat Britain's Heather Watson in the first round.
As Watson said after going out, "Serena really is the only person who doesn't have to look at her rankings points, because she wins everything."
Her 6-1, 6-2 victory on Wednesday was easier even than her 6-2, 6-1 win over Barty and, on the brief evidence in the tournament so far, the 32-year-old American looks unbeatable: full-stop, unbeatable, not only in these championships.
She has carried over her form from 2013 – when she won 11 titles (including two slams), five of them without dropping a set – to Melbourne, where she is reaching for her sixth title, among 17 majors in all. No one would bet against her making it 18 here, then having a great run at a total Grand Slam with wins in Paris, Wimbledon and New York.
It would certainly cap one of the great careers, although Williams shows no signs of slowing down or contemplating retirement. Since recovering from her injuries and health problems, she has hit an unprecedented peak of excellence, even by her standards.
Williams put 10 aces past Dolonc, the Serb ranked 104 in the world, in a quick workout perfectly suited to the debilitating heat.
She is obliged, nevertheless – or, more accurately, programmed – to mouth platitudes and declared she would take it "one match at a time". Williams is so far ahead of her contemporaries, she could play them two at a time.
She does have her moments of doubt. Williams revealed the heat had so played on her mind, that, "I keep waking up in the middle of the night, paranoid. I just wanted to stay hydrated. The last thing I want to do is cramp in this weather. It can happen so easy. I'm drinking a tremendous amount of water. I probably feel the heat more in my head, not necessarily in my chest.
"But, so far, I have been OK. I have been training for a long time in the heat in Florida, as well as playing. I have been coming to Melbourne for years and years. You just have to be ready for the hot conditions, and try to get through it. The conditions in my match were OK. I hear they were a little bit more extreme yesterday. I didn't even go outside."
In fact, if Williams wanted to phone her score in, she would probably get away with it. Reported by guardian.co.uk 15 hours ago.
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Only Serena Williams could say without laughing, "I never look at the draw – ever, ever, ever."
Of course, as the finest player in the women's game since Steffi Graf, she does not have to. She barely had to look across the net to see who her opponent was on day three of the Australian Open, either, dismissing poor Vesna Dolonc in an hour, then eschewing an ice bath, despite the heat that seems to be reducing nearly everyone else within a hundred miles of Melbourne to molten misery. "I really hate ice baths," she said courtside.
So, in case she is wondering, Williams next plays Daniela Hantuchova, who just after Christmas in Brisbane lost to the Australian teenager Ashleigh Barty (who lost to Williams in the first round here) and who this week beat Britain's Heather Watson in the first round.
As Watson said after going out, "Serena really is the only person who doesn't have to look at her rankings points, because she wins everything."
Her 6-1, 6-2 victory on Wednesday was easier even than her 6-2, 6-1 win over Barty and, on the brief evidence in the tournament so far, the 32-year-old American looks unbeatable: full-stop, unbeatable, not only in these championships.
She has carried over her form from 2013 – when she won 11 titles (including two slams), five of them without dropping a set – to Melbourne, where she is reaching for her sixth title, among 17 majors in all. No one would bet against her making it 18 here, then having a great run at a total Grand Slam with wins in Paris, Wimbledon and New York.
It would certainly cap one of the great careers, although Williams shows no signs of slowing down or contemplating retirement. Since recovering from her injuries and health problems, she has hit an unprecedented peak of excellence, even by her standards.
Williams put 10 aces past Dolonc, the Serb ranked 104 in the world, in a quick workout perfectly suited to the debilitating heat.
She is obliged, nevertheless – or, more accurately, programmed – to mouth platitudes and declared she would take it "one match at a time". Williams is so far ahead of her contemporaries, she could play them two at a time.
She does have her moments of doubt. Williams revealed the heat had so played on her mind, that, "I keep waking up in the middle of the night, paranoid. I just wanted to stay hydrated. The last thing I want to do is cramp in this weather. It can happen so easy. I'm drinking a tremendous amount of water. I probably feel the heat more in my head, not necessarily in my chest.
"But, so far, I have been OK. I have been training for a long time in the heat in Florida, as well as playing. I have been coming to Melbourne for years and years. You just have to be ready for the hot conditions, and try to get through it. The conditions in my match were OK. I hear they were a little bit more extreme yesterday. I didn't even go outside."
In fact, if Williams wanted to phone her score in, she would probably get away with it. Reported by guardian.co.uk 15 hours ago.