In the first of the WTA quarter-finals in Montreal, Serena Williams defeated Caroline Wozniacki, 4-6 7-5 7-5 in two hours and 41 minutes in what was a throughly entertaining contest.  Wozniacki has played some great tennis in her last two tournaments.  In fact, her form seemed to turn at Eastbourne in June when she reached the semi-finals.  She won Istanbul two weeks ago and hadn’t lost more than two games in any of her first three matches in Montreal.  In the quarter-final, Caroline won the first set, 6-4 saving a couple of break points and then broke Serena at the beginning of the second set.  Her first serve has really started become a weapon and she dropped just five points on it in the first set.

The turning point in the second set came at 6-4 *4-3 up when Wozniacki threw in a dodgy service game.  Her serves didn’t have as much pop on them, she threw in one double fault and Serena gobbled up the opportunity with some heavy returns.  The pair fought out a lengthy game with Serena 6-5* up and although she never looked entirely comfortable, the world number one eventually broke through to force a deciding set.

On three occasions Serena went up a break, but all three times Caroline came back.  After Caroline played a great game to level the third set at 4-4, Serena found some of her best serves to hold with ease in her next two service games.  At 6-5*, the scoreboard pressure finally took its toll on Caroline and Serena converted on her third match point.  In the post-match interview, she said that she was tired and understandably so after playing four matches in Stanford and now three in Montreal.  Although there is fatigue, I think Serena will win Montreal.  I wouldn’t be surprised though if she pulls out of Cincy or falls early.

On the other hand, I could see Wozniacki going deeper in Cincy than she did in Montreal assuming she gets a reasonable draw.  I always felt going back to Piotr was a big mistake; however working with other coaches has just not worked out for her and now she’s playing arguably her best tennis for years.  Caroline is taking more chances and is more positive in her play than she was a couple of years ago when she was world number one.  Her serve has really improved and today, her return was working well.  It’s obviously not like a Kvitova return who just slays a winner at 920mph, but it was consistently deep and forcing Serena to think on her feet for the next shot.

Thid was a great match and all in all, it’s been a fantastic tournament in Montreal.  I AM PUMPED for the Cincy draw, which will be out soon.