US Open 2014: Serena Williams trumps Varvara Lepchenko; faces Kaia Kanepi in pre-quarters

Serena Williams defeats Varvara Lepchenko, 6-3, 6-3, in the third round.

Updated: August 31, 2014 11:00 AM IST

By AFP

US Open 2014: Serena Williams trumps Varvara Lepchenko; faces Kaia Kanepi in pre-quarters

NEW YORK – Five-time champion Serena Williams took care of business Saturday, booking her fourth-round berth at the US Open with a straight-sets win over sometime practice partner Varvara Lepchenko. Williams, who has so-far failed to add to her cache of 17 Grand Slam titles this year, is taking her last chance to do so seriously.

Known for her forays in to fashion and entertainment, Williams said this trip to New York was all about tennis, not only her bid for a third straight singles title but also her doubles campaign with sister Venus. “While we’re here, we’re just focused on the tournament,” Williams said. “We’re practicing. We’re not necessarily having fun. This is our job. We train really hard for it.”

Although she hasn’t won a major this year, Williams arrived in New York having won her fourth and fifth titles of the year in the weeks before the Open at Stanford and Cincinnati. She dropped just five games total in getting past compatriots Taylor Townsend and Vania King in the first and second rounds, but found the going tougher in a 6-3, 6-3 win over Lepchenko, a player she knows well and sometimes trains with.

“My opponent today was spectacular,” Williams said. “It was a really tough match and it just shows how far Varvara has come — I’m really proud of her.” But it’s Williams who is going on to face Estonian Kaia Kanepi for a quarter-final berth. She’s one of only three of the top eight women’s seeds remaining in the tournament, but she could offer little insight into the spate of upsets.

“I don’t know,” said Williams who has failed to make it past the fourth round at the three prior Grand Slams this year. “I’ve been a casualty this whole year at Grand Slams. I’m just hoping to keep staying in there.”

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