Women's Day 8: In Which Serena Scares The Crap Out of Everybody Left

Women's Fourth Round:

Serena Williams (USA)[1] def. Samantha Stosur (AUS)[13] 6-4, 6-2 -- The scoreline really doesn't do this whooping justice.  Serena was absolutely untouchable on her serve, and returned exceptionally well against one of the best servers in the game in Stosur.  She hit 30 winners against only 14 errors, a ratio unheard of in the women's game for a player aggressive as she is.  This was as dominant as I have Serena play since, well, ever.  The only two previous matches I can compare it to are her final Down Under vs. Maria Sharapova in 2007, and her 2002 US Open quarterfinal vs. Daniela Hantuchova, back in the catsuit days.  They might as well give her the trophy now.

Li Na (CHN)[16] def. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[4] 6-4, 6-3 -- Li Na was able to keep her blasts within the court often enough to punch holes in the Wozniacki backboard, rallying from 2-4 down in the first set to run away with this one by the end.  This was exactly the type of tennis (aggressive and relatively clean) that Wozniacki really never had to contend with during her run to the US Open finals.  If more players can manage it, Wozniacki may find her days with her own quarter of draws at slams to be short in number.  Li is the second Chinese player to make the quarterfinals here, marking the first time that country has ever sent two.  An all-Chinese final doesn't seem too likely, to say the least, but it would be fairly interesting.

Venus Williams (USA)[6] def. Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[17] 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 -- I picked Schiavone to pull off the upset in straight sets, and my forecast was looking pretty good as Schiavone went up a set and a break.  But then the elder Williams really engaged in the second set, reeling in her shots well and stepping into the court more and more.  She was able to pick on the fairly paceless Schiavone shots with more and more ease, passing the test with flying colors by the time the final ball was struck.  In other news: those underpants of hers are ridiculous, especially in the back.  Li beat her in the 2008 Olympics, but Venus clearly has the edge in career slam quarterfinal records.

Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[7] def. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[9] 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 -- I had this one totally pegged in my prediction, a feat I would be prouder of if it wasn't so easy.  For the second slam in a row, Vera Zvonareva blew a set-and-break lead and wound up being bageled listlessly in the third while on the verge of tears.  Azarenka really seemed to relax when she received an audible obscenity code violation at 4-3 in the second, and laughed it off in a decidedly un-Serenaesque fashion.  There were some real moments of impressive tennis in this one, but nothing that comes close to what Serena was able to do earlier in the day.  Azarenka will be lucky to win six games in her next match.