Early hard court season and Australian Open 2014 Serena Williams tennis season

1 hard court season , australian open

1.1 brisbane international
1.2 australian open
1.3 dubai duty free tennis championships
1.4 sony open tennis

early hard court season , australian open
brisbane international

williams began season @ brisbane international, defending champion , no. 1 seed. williams received bye in first round. played first match of 2014 season against german andrea petkovic. pair traded breaks in 3rd , 4th game, williams broke once again @ ninth game , served set out. williams broke in fifth game of second set , held break served out in tenth game. williams made 35 winners including 11 aces , 36 unforced errors in match. in quarterfinals, williams faced dominika cibulková. in first set, williams broke in 8 game , closed out following game, williams won set without dropping point in serve. williams broke in ninth game of second set win match. williams hit 32 winners 12 aces , 17 unforced errors opponent s 7 winners , 11 unforced errors. in final four, williams faced russian maria sharapova. first saw sharapova breaking once, however, williams broke russian 3 times including in 8 game win set. in second set, there 6 breaks of serve saw set go tie-break. williams closed out third match point. williams served 44% of first serves in match , made 7 double faults sharapova s 8. in final, world no. 1 vs no. 2, williams took on victoria azarenka. in first set, williams came on top, needing break in seventh game close out ace in tenth game. williams made 14 winners, 12 unforced errors, 4 aces , no double faults in set, while azarenka made 3, 8, 1 , 3 respectively. second set saw williams edge out break early, azarenka won 4 games in row break advantage. williams able on serve, , broke in eleventh game , closed out match. williams ended 30 winners , unforced 11 aces, azarenka on other hand made 15 winners 23 unforced errors, , single ace 3 double faults.

australian open

williams entered australian open heavy favorite win title , number 1 seed. coming off 22 match winning streak stretches 2012 open. in first round faced wildcard ashleigh barty. broke barty twice in first set , served out in eighth game. in second set, williams broke barty 3 times, including in final game in seventh game of second close out in under hour. williams didn t drop point behind first serve in entire match , hit 31 winners , 17 unforced errors. in following round, williams faced vesna dolonc, in first set, williams broke twice , served out in seventh game. in second, williams broke twice again , saved break point faced in tournament serve out in 8 game. williams hit 24 winners, 10 of aces. in third round, williams took on daniela hantuchová. in first set, williams had 1 break point , converted, while saving 6 break points faced win set in ninth game. in second set, williams broke early, hantuchová broke in sixth game. williams won last 3 games win match. williams dispatched 10 aces in match. match meant has won matches in australian open 61. williams next opponent 14th seed ana ivanovic. first set saw williams break in tenth game take set. however, in second set, ivanovic broke williams twice including in ninth game take set. in final set, ivanovic broke williams love in second game , enough close out match in ninth game. loss ivanovic snaps 25 match winning streak second-longest winning streak of career. williams first loss ivanovic, having won 4 previous meetings in straight sets , losing no more 4 games in each set. revealed after match williams had injury , withdrew prior third round match.

dubai duty free tennis championships

williams received wildcard in dubai duty free tennis championships, saw return tournament first since 2009 edition of championships. williams being top seed received bye through first round. in second round faced ekaterina makarova. although russian served first set, williams broke force first set tiebreak. after saving 2 set points , winning first set, williams racked off 6 straight games win match , advance. in quarterfinals faced long-time rival jelena janković. despite winning comfortably in straight sets, williams exchanged words janković in final service game of match on how serb serving. in final four, williams faced alizé cornet. williams kept first set on serve until being broken in eleventh game. williams unable create break point , lost set in following game. following immediate break @ start of second set, williams converted sole break point of match in fourth game level. wasn t enough cornet broke third time @ 3–3 forehand passing shot winner. french no. 1 held nerve , served out match love first win on world no. 1.

sony open tennis

williams returned sony open tennis defending champion , top seed received bye through second round faced yaroslava shvedova. took first set in tiebreak after having break stay in set. second set won more comfortably. in third round williams had overcome in-form caroline garcia. after taking opening set garcia fought , took second set same score. williams went break in final set, despite being interrupted rain, proved decisive world no. 1 did not face single break point on serve. williams took on fellow american coco vandeweghe in fourth round. vandeweghe met william s dominant serve equally big serves of own, williams stepped return game taking 4 of 9 break point opportunities created. win set fifth career meeting fifth seeded angelique kerber in quarterfinals. williams took match comprehensively in straight sets, losing 4 games. semifinals saw rematch of previous years final against fourth seed maria sharapova. after falling behind 1–4 in first set, williams racked off 5 straight games take first set, finishing set 11 winners including 5 aces. again williams fell behind break @ start of second set, world no. 1 broke level. williams earned first of 2 service breaks take second set , match. in final williams faced new world no. 2 li na. semifinal match, williams had sluggish start opening set, struggling first serve in play. fell behind china s no. 1 player, however, williams regrouped , broke stay in first set on third break opportunity. quick hold fifteen followed , li na forced serve set second time. time chinese player held set point williams saved backhand winner down line. followed hitting huge forehand return winner creating break point stay in set, took. williams broke again come , take set. li na stopped loss of 6 consecutive games holding serve 1–1 in second set. williams responded winning next 5 games, match , seventh miami title, finishing 29 winners 29 unforced errors. seventh tournament win in miami put ahead of andre agassi miami titles won individual player, male or female.