Venus Williams beats Belinda Bencic to make US Open last 16

Sport360 staff 23:13 04/09/2015
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  • The Williams sisters could meet in the quarter-finals.

    Two-time champion Venus Williams defeated highly-rated Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic for the fourth time on Friday to reach the US Open last 16.

    Williams, 35, hit 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4 win over the 18-year-old 12th seed and goes on to face either compatriot Madison Brengle or Anett Kontaveit of Estonia.

    Williams, the champion in 2000 and 2001 who played her first final in 1997, also stayed on course for a quarter-final showdown with sister Serena.

    “I’m really pleased I played a (great) match against someone who had such a great summer,” said Williams who fired 31 winners against 15 unforced errors while Bencic, 18, had 12 of each.

    “I would rather make an error and play aggressive, go for it,” added the 35-year-old.

    Williams advanced to a fourth-round match against either US compatriot Madison Brengle or Estonian qualifier Anett Kontaveit and could face her sister Serena in the quarter-finals.

    “I hope we both get to the quarter-finals,” she said.

    Venus broke Bencic in the eighth game and held on her fourth ace to take the first set in 33 minutes, having blasted 16 winners to only four by Bencic.

    Bencic broke for a 3-1 lead when Venus sent a forehand long but Venus responded with a forehand winner to break back in the seventh game and broke again in the ninth before ending matters with her fifth ace.

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    Elsewhere, Russian 13th seed Ekaterina Makarova ousted Ukraine 17th seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-5 in a matchup of the top-ranked remaining players in their quarter of the draw.

    Makarova reached the semi-finals of last year’s US Open and this year’s Australian Open while Svitolina reached her first Slam quarter-final at this year’s French Open.

    Makarova, playing with a taped upper right leg, began cramping while serving at match point. After missing two of them, she sat down and asked for a trainer but was told she could not be treated until a changeover, so she fought through the pain to advance on a forehand winner.

    “Just at match point it starts cramping,” Makarova said. “I was scared. It’s the first time I was cramping. She told me she can’t treat me until the changeover. I kept playing and kept trying.”

    A Grand Slam record 12 men have retired from matches at this tournament with two women quitting during matches as well, many from heat-related cramping issues.

    Makarova will next face France’s Kristina Mladenovic, who was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over injured Maria Sharapova’s replacement, Russian lucky loser Daria Kasatkina.

    Mladenovic makes her deepest Grand Slam run after third-round efforts this year at Wimbledon and Roland Garros.

    “What a way to reach my first second week of a Slam,” Mladenovic said. “It’s a dream for all of us to do really well at the Slams. That’s the reason we work hard every day.”

    France’s Benoit Paire reached his first Grand Slam fourth round with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-1, 6-1 victory over 26th seed Tommy Robredo, his third win of the year over the Spaniard.

    Paire, ranked 41st, also beat Robredo in July’s Bastad final for his first ATP title. Paire next faces 19th-seeded countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a semi-finalist at every Slam but the US Open.

    Tsonga ousted Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.

    “I did a great job,” Tsonga said.

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