Sport
Wimbledon 2012: Serena Williams beats Jie Zheng – advances
Serena Williams beats Jie Zheng. PHOTO/Getty Images
Serena Williams hit a Wimbledon-record 23 aces, held every service game and narrowly escaped an upset bid by Zheng Jie, winning 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 9-7 in the third round Saturday.
Williams, who erased all six break points she faced, served three times to stay in the match and held each time at love. She was pushed to deuce serving in the final game but closed out the victory with a volley winner, then hopped in glee on the Centre Court grass.
“I just wanted to get through that match,” Williams said. “The last thing I wanted to do was lose.”
The 5-foot-4½ Zheng, seeded 25th, played with little flash but plenty of consistency against Williams, committing just 17 unforced errors. She hung in the match despite hitting only one ace.
Williams rocketed a return to break for an 8-7 lead in the final set, then showed how much she wanted to win, throwing back her head and letting out a long scream.
Williams has been stalled at 13 Grand Slam titles since winning Wimbledon for the fourth time in 2010, and dealt with a series of health issues in 2010-11.
Her next opponent will be Shvedova, who won all 24 points in the first set, a so-called “golden set”, and beat French Open runner-up Sara Errani 6-0, 6-4. It’s the first known golden set by a woman in the Open era, the International Tennis Federation said, and the BBC showed a highlight package of all 24 points.
