Serena, Wozniacki march into Auckland semis

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Serena Williams wore down a tenacious Laura Siegemund to make the WTA Auckland Classic semifinals on Friday, January 10 as the 23-time Grand Slam winner chases her first title in 3 years.

Siegemund had upset US teen prodigy Coco Gauff to reach the final 8 and kept up the pressure until the 1st set hit 4-4, when Williams moved up a gear to win 6-4, 6-3 in just under 90 minutes.

Williams showed her class as she broke Siegemund and then held serve to take the 1st set. 

The German claimed her own service break early in the 2nd set but her opponent broke back to level at 3-3 and then commanded the next 3 games.

Although still troubled by the Auckland wind, Williams said she was determined to prove herself this week as she uses the competition to fine-tune ahead of the Australian Open. 

“The conditions definitely didn’t help, so it was good to get through that,” she said. 

Williams had her last tournament win at the 2017 Australian Open and before she arrived in Auckland she had not played since losing the US Open final last September.

But she is now in the semifinals of both the singles and doubles in Auckland and said the court time was beneficial in her bid to win a 24th Grand Slam in Australia later in the month.

“The body’s feeling great. I said I wanted to play singles and doubles here so I knew what I was going to be up against and I’m happy to still be in the tournament,” she said.

Her semifinal opponent will be 3rd seed Amanda Anisimova, who defeated Eugenie Bouchard, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, while the other semis will feature Caroline Wozniacki and Jessica Pegula. 

Former world No. 1 Wozniacki, in the penultimate tournament of her storied career, knocked out defending champion and tournament 4th seed Julia Goerges, 6-1, 6-4, in the quarterfinals.

Unheralded American Pegula, who is yet to face a seeded opponent in the tournament, was up 6-0, 3-2 against Alize Cornet when the Frenchwoman retired hurt with a thigh injury. – Rappler.com