Serena Williams returns to Zheng Jie during her three-set win in the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament in Key Biscayne, Fla., on Monday. Williams has won the tournament the past two years.
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Serena Williams smacked an ace with her final swing, then raised a fist and began to pogo.
One, two, three, four times she hopped, showing uncommon exuberance over reaching the quarterfinals in a tournament she dominates.
But survival is something to celebrate, and Williams barely made it out of the fourth round Monday at the Sony Ericsson Open.
The top-ranked Williams twice lost five games in a row but finished with a flourish and defied the tournament’s upset trend by beating No. 17-seeded Zheng Jie 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.
“I was just happy to get through it,” Williams said, “because at one point I hit a ball into the bottom of the net and I thought, ‘Wow, I haven’t done this since I was a junior.’ . . . I wasn’t playing great.”
Also reaching the final eight was No. 5-seeded Venus Williams, who staged her own narrow escape to beat Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. The Williams sisters could renew their sibling rivalry in the semifinals Thursday.
“I haven’t seen any of Venus’ matches here, so I should try to catch up on a few of those,” Serena said. “I know she had a tough match today, and I followed suit.”
Serena is seeking a record sixth Key Biscayne title and her third in a row. Her reign was in danger when she fell behind love-2, 15-40 serving in the third set, but she rallied to take the lead, then swept the final eight points.
She won despite being broken six times and committing 43 unforced errors.
Venus Williams’ earlier match followed a similar script. She shanked overheads. She double-faulted three times in the final game. She grimaced and frowned and dropped her racket as if she wanted nothing more to do with it.
But she picked up her racket – and her game when it mattered most.
“Fortunately I’ve had experiences like that before,” Venus said. “I know how to get through it.”
The sisters are the lone quarterfinalists ranked in the top seven. Among those eliminated Monday were Olympic champion Elena Dementieva and two-time Grand Slam winner Amelie Mauresmo.
On the men’s side, where there have been no big surprises, top-ranked Rafael Nadal reached the fourth round by beating qualifier Frederico Gil 7-5, 6-3.
No. 4-seeded Andy Murray defeated Nicolas Massu 6-4, 6-4.