Venus rising
Originally published on 14/03/18 00:00
Less than 24 hours after recording a rare victory over her sister Serena, the evergreen 37-year-old was back on court and competing for every point like only she can.
This time Venus overcame Anastasija Sevastova 7-6(6) 6-4. It was a bruising encounter filled with momentum shifts, however it was the crowd-favourite who performed better in the crucial moments.
“It was not an easy match to figure out,” acknowledged the American, who will face either Carla Suarez Navarro or Danielle Collins next. “She {Sevastova] has everything in her game and it was a quick turnaround after the emotions of yesterday.
“It felt like a final (against Serena], but it only got me into the fourth round.”
Simona Halep also enjoyed a straight sets victory. The world No.1 encountered trouble against Caroline Dolehide on Monday, but enjoyed a more straightforward afternoon against Qiang Wang.
“She [Wang] beat me in practice a few days ago, so I knew it would tough,” said Halep after her 7-5 6-1 win. "I knew what I had to do, and in the end I was dominating a bit more.”
The Romanian will challenge Petra Martic in the last eight. The Croatian got the better of Marketa Vondrousova 6-3 7-6(4).
Earlier in the day, former world No.1, Karolina Pliskova, ended Amanda Anisimova’s remarkable Indian Wells adventure. The Czech overcame the exciting 16-year-old 6-1 7-6(2).
Naomi Osaka, who has already beaten Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska this week, got the better Maria Sakkari 6-1 5-7 6-1 and will take on Pliskova in the quarter-finals.
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