Serena serves up birthday masterclass for Suárez

World number one Serena Williams put an abrupt end to Carla Suárez’s history-making run in the US Open on Tuesday. In a windy Arthur Ashe Stadium the younger of the two Williams sisters blew away the world number 20, who had become the first Spanish woman to reach the last eight of the tournament since 1998, in just 52 minutes, winning 6-0, 6-0 and dropping just 18 points in the process.

It was a masterclass in tennis for the Spaniard, who was celebrating her 25th birthday on Tuesday. “She’s a great player but the conditions today were so tough, so it definitely was not her best tennis,” said a diplomatic Williams in reference to the wind on court. “I’ve been here for what, 50 years? I’ve kind of gotten used to the conditions and even though it’s difficult to play each year, I’m getting a little bit better at it.”

“The match was longer because there was the TV and you have to stay seated in the changes until they say ‘time’ [because of the commercial breaks],” joked Suárez after the defeat. “Serena is a strong player. When I play with the wind against me, I have no chance.”

Suárez was not the only overachieving Spaniard to suffer at the hands of the top seed in New York on Tuesday. Marcel Granollers was dumped out 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 in his quarterfinal match against Novak Djokovic, who said he had played some of the best tennis of his career on Arthur Ashe during the second and third sets.