Monday, 21 January, 2008
By Andrew Wu
No.8 seed Venus Williams has set up a mouth-watering quarter-final showdown with Ana Ivanovic after defeating the unseeded Marta Domachowska at Melbourne Park on Day Eight.
The 6-4 6-4 scoreline was not an accurate reflection of the admirable resistance put up by Domachowska, who gave an unimpressive Williams more than her fair share of awkward moments.
The Polish world No.146, who does not even have her own page in the WTA’s media guide, broke Williams’ serve twice in the opening set and managed to save one match point before having her flame extinguished.
In the end, the experience of Williams, a six-time Grand Slam title winner, proved telling but she will need to lift her game considerably if she is to topple Ivanovic in the quarters.
However, this has been a significant week for Domachowska, who prior to this tournament had won just two Grand Slam matches.
Not only did she collect the scalp of a top-30 player in Li Na but she reached the fourth round of a major for the first time in her career.
Match Facts:
- Domachowska had 30 unforced errors to Williams’ 16
- Domachowska had 18 winners to Williams’ 14
- Williams broke serve five times but dropped service on three occasions
- Williams won a higher percentage of points on her second serve than her first
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