World number one Serena Williams booked her place in the third round of the China Open after defeating Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 7-5. This was a rematch of their recent encounter at the US Open last month but this was a much tighter affair. Williams only lost one game in their match in New York while in Beijing, she had to play hard and save set points along the way to seal the victory in straight sets.
“It didn’t surprise me,” Williams said. “I was definitely more surprised that I played so well in the Open, but it was a different circumstance – even though the scoreline looked much easier at the Open, it wasn’t an easy match. But as for Francesca playing so well today, I wasn’t surprised about that.”
Unfortunately for her older sister, Venus Williams, the seven-time Grand Slam champion crashed out in the second round after losing to Wimbledon 2013 finalist Sabine Lisicki of Germany 1-6, 2-6. Venus was fresh from a semifinal finish at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo last week.
