(Photo: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters)
Serena Williams is on a roll. She particularly has a good Sunday, as the potential barriers on her way towards her 24th Grand Slam singles title cleared out. Not all are even her own doing.
As reported by the New York Times, as if the universe is working on her favor, Williams saw her way towards the title she is desiring become even clearer. Not only did she powered her way against No. 22 Petra Martic with a 6-3, 604 in the United States Open, the results of other courts worked well for her too. Second-seeded Ashley Barty, as well as third-seeded Karolina Pliskova both, respectively lost their games. Both were in Williams' half of the draw and with their downfall, she can now fast track her way to the final if she plays it right of course.
No. 18 Wang Qiang reportedly stunned Barty with a 6-2, 604. Qiang reached her first-ever quarterfinals after 21 tries. On the other hand, Pliskova lost to No. 16 Johanna Konta. Despite these positive developments for her, Williams refuses to look at these that way. She cannot afford to be complacent.
"I can't afford to look at it that way; every single match I have played, people come, and they play their best," said Williams, who will now play Wang and not Barty, in the quarterfinals. This match will be on Tuesday.
Williams added that no matter who she is playing it, she needs to be at her best and gives her best. There should not be looking at things as if they are because of luck. Everything will be because of her hard work. She knows that if she lets all these new developments get into her head, she can end up losing it all. Williams said, "I have to be the greatest, whether it's against the second seed, the No. 1 seed, or the No. 80th player in the world. I have to show up, or else I'm going to go home."
On her part, Barty is already moving on from this heartbreaking loss. According to the NY Post, the 23-year-old, who relatively had a good year with three wins this season, she feels frustrated right now but she'll be fine soon enough. "It's a new day tomorrow. Just because we've had a tough hour and a half on the court, it doesn't reflect on the year that I've had or the couple of weeks I've had here in New York," she added.
