Federer, Sharapova take centre stage but eyes on Venus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova will take centre stage at the U.S. Open on Friday but Flushing Meadows is slowly turning into a Williams family affair with the sisters eager to add to their grand slam collections.

Federer, Sharapova take centre stage but eyes on Venus

(Reuters)





With seven U.S. Open singles titles between them, Venus and Serena have both set their sights on the Sept. 7 women's final but have also joined forces in an effort to take the doubles crown as well.

Venus will try to show younger sister Serena the way into the fourth round when she takes on 13th seeded Italian Sara Errani in an early matchup on Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

"She's a great singles player and a doubles player," said Williams, who claimed back-to-back U.S. titles in 2000 and 2001.

"Every time I've played her, I've had to be focused on every single point because she does not let up on any point no matter what the score is.

"If she's down 5-Love, 40-Love and never won a game in the match, she is in there still to win the match. That's my main thing: to stay focused and play my game."

Sharapova, another former U.S. Open champion, will meet Germany's Sabine Lisicki while China's Peng Shuai, who beat fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, will face off against Italy's Roberta Vinci.

Second seed Federer, a five-time U.S. Open winner, will take on Australia's Sam Groth for a spot in the third round as he continues his bid to add to his record haul of 17 grand slams.

Fourth seed David Ferrer of Spain will also face Australian opposition when he battles Bernard Tomic in a second round clash.





(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world