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Serena wins record 307th Grand Slam match

By The Assam Tribune

NEW YORK, Sept 4: Serena Williams sped past another milestone en route to the US Open fourth round as men�s contenders Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka clawed their way into the last 16.

World number one Williams dominated Sweden�s Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-1 to surpass Martina Navratilova for most Grand Slam wins by a woman with 307 matches.

Not only has she surpassed Navratilova, she matched Roger Federer�s mark for men.

�To be up there with both men and women is something that�s super-rare, and it actually feels good,� said Williams, who said she was �really excited� to reach 307.

�Obviously I want to keep that number going higher,� added Williams, who will get her chance when she takes on Kazakhstan�s Yaroslava Shvedova for a quarterfinal berth.

In the one hour it took to subdue Larsson, Williams again appeared untroubled by the shoulder injury that has slowed her since her Wimbledon triumph.

�It definitely feels solid,� she said. �I�m doing a lot of work on it so I can keep it in this position.�

While Williams encountered little resistance, it was another story for the top men�s seeds in action.

Wawrinka, a two-time Grand Slam winner and twice a semifinalist in New York, had the closest call, saving a match point in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/8), 6-2 victory over Britain�s Dan Evans.

The 31-year-old third seed saved the match point at 5/6 in the fourth set tiebreaker, breaking the will of his 64th-ranked opponent.

�It�s always good to win by saving match point. It�s always something special, that�s for sure,� said Wawrinka, who had his left ankle taped after twisting it during the match. �It was a tough battle and I�m happy to get through.�

Many of Murray�s troubles against Paolo Lorenzi were of his own making as he allowed the energetic Italian journeyman to make him look ordinary through two sets before pulling himself together to win 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.

�I had to stop rushing,� said Murray, who arrived at the year�s final Grand Slam off victories at Wimbledon and the Rio Olympics and may have expected less from Lorenzi, the 34-year-old who only won a first ATP title in July.

�I was making a lot of unforced errors and (Lorenzi) is very solid, and doesn�t give you cheap points,� Murray said. �I was looking for those cheap points too often.�

Murray takes on Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, a 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 winner over Portugal�s Joao Sousa, for a quarterfinal berth.

Wawrinka next faces 63rd-ranked Ukrainian Illya Marchenko, who advanced when a hurting Nick Kyrgios, hobbled by a painful right hip, retired while trailing 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Kyrgios, the 14th seed from Australia soldiered on after receiving treatment at the end of the second set before opting out at the end of the third.

Sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan, two years removed from his run to the final, rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win over France�s Nicolas Mahut.

Nishikori, who has dropped a set in each of his matches so far, will take on Ivo Karlovic for a quarterfinals berth after the towering Croatian defeated 19-year-old American Jared Donaldson 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

Juan Martin del Potro, whose career was nearly derailed by injuries after his 2009 US Open triumph, fired 37 winners in a 7-6 (7/3), 6-2, 6-3 victory over Spanish 11th seed David Ferrer.

He next faces eighth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem, who celebrated his 23rd birthday with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain. � AFP

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