Serena Williams comforts the emotional Dayana Yastremska Serena Williams consoled 18-year-old Dayana Yastremska after the seven-time Australian Open champion breezed into the fourth round. The 37-year-old continued her impressive passage through the draw with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over the 18-year-old Ukrainian, who was not born when Williams won her first Grand Slam singles title in 1999. Williams has dropped just nine games from her opening three matches and will next face either last year's runner-up Simona Halep or sister Venus on Monday. Williams has been in dominant form during the first week of the tournament "You did amazing. You did so well. You're gonna make it, don't cry. You did really well," Williams told an emotional Yastremska after her victory on Rod Laver Arena. The American 16th seed is targeting a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title and maintained her standing as the favourite for a record-extending eighth success in Melbourne. Asked in her post-match interview about the future of Yastremska, Williams added: "She came out swinging and to be so young, she came out ready to go. "When I was young I played against so many people and everyone I faced was intimidating and not easy. You just go out and swing and do the best you can." While Williams eased her way into the second week there were far more difficult third-round encounters for Elina Svitolina and Naomi Osaka, who both needed come-from-behind wins to reach the last-16. Elina Svitolina celebrates coming through a stern battle Svitolina, who won last season's WTA Finals, recovered from 3-0 and two service breaks down in the third set against China's Zhang Shuai to prevail. The sixth seed required treatment for a stiff shoulder and neck but despite failing to serve out for victory, having won five games in a row in the decider, converted on her second match point. "It was a very tough match for both of us," Svitolina said. "She played unbelievable tennis and hopefully we'll see many more of her talents back in Melbourne. It was very hot conditions so I was struggling a little. Svitolina is aiming for a maiden Grand Slam title "We left everything on court but we practise every day for those matches. I thought I will either die or win. "I had to stay mentally strong. I was trying to stay out there as long as possible." What a day!💥😅 I think it’s safe to say that we left everything on that court today @zhangshuai121 @AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/0t1QRq1WT0 — Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) January 19, 2019 Madison Keys will be Svitolina's next opponent after the American broke Elise Mertens' serve four times in a dominant 6-3 6-2 win. US Open champion Osaka came back from two games from defeat to overcome the unorthodox playing style of Hsieh Su-wei 5-7 6-4 6-1. Naomi Osaka recovered from the brink of defeat in Melbourne Hsieh caused Osaka difficulties with her use of spins and angles appeared in command having won the opening set and leading 4-1 in the second only for the previously frustrated Japanese player to win 11 of the last 12 games. "I just didn't want to give up," said Osaka. "I really love Grand Slams so I did anything I could do to stay here a bit longer." Osaka will meet Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova in the fourth round after the 13th seed beat China's world No 21 Qianq Wang 6-3 6-3. We have the Australian Open covered from all angles via our website skysports.com/tennis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.<doc-sep>MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA—It was all a bit overwhelming for the latest opponent who could do nothing to slow Serena Williams at the Australian Open. So Dayana Yastremska, an 18-year-old from Ukraine, found herself wiping away tears as she walked to the net. Williams knows what it’s like to be the one weeping after a loss. She put her right hand on Yastremska’s shoulder and consoled her by saying, “You’re so young. You did amazing. Don’t cry.” Then they embraced, and Williams patted Yastremska on the back. “I could tell she was quite upset. I kind of liked that. It shows she wasn’t just there to play a good match — she was there to win. She wanted to win. That really broke my heart,” Williams said. “I think she’s a good talent. It’s good to see that attitude.” Maybe she will be tested in the fourth round, because no one has come close to making her work too hard so far, including the 6-2, 6-1 victory on Saturday. Next up, though, is a far more accomplished player, No. 1-ranked Simona Halep, who took control by reeling off six consecutive games in one stretch and advanced by beating Williams’ sister, Venus, 6-2, 6-3. After two tough three-set tussles, Halep had a much easier time of things, making only 12 unforced errors while Venus had 33. Halep played with her left thigh taped, but moved around the court well. “She played pretty flawless,” said Venus, who exits before the fourth round at a fifth consecutive Grand Slam tournament. Looking ahead, Halep said: “It’s going to be a bigger challenge. I am ready to face it.” She’s lost eight of her past nine matches against Serena. Might Venus offer her sibling any tips? “I don’t know if Serena needs my help or not,” Venus said. “If she does, I’ll be there.” Not only has Serena won every set she played this week — and 20 in a row at Melbourne Park, dating to the start of her 2017 run to the title (she sat out last year’s tournament after having a baby) — but Williams has ceded a total of only nine games through three victories. Unlike any of Serena’s foes until now, Halep has won a major title, last year’s French Open. She’s been to three other Grand Slam finals, including a year ago at the Australian Open. That resume pales in comparison to Serena’s, of course. Whose doesn’t? She is bidding for an eighth trophy at the Australian Open and record-tying 24th Grand Slam title in all. As for the prospect of playing the Williams sisters in back-to-back matches, Halep called it “the toughest draw I’ve ever had.” “I just want to try to play my best tennis,” Halep said, “because I have nothing to lose.” Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Other women’s fourth-rounders set up for Monday: Naomi Osaka, the woman who beat Serena in last year’s chaotic U.S. Open final, against No. 13 Anastasija Sevastova; 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Madison Keys against No. 6 Elina Svitolina; and two-time major champion Garbine Muguruza against 2016 U.S. Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova, who beat No. 27 seed Camila Giorgi 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 on Saturday night. Men’s matchups Monday with a quarterfinal berth at stake will be: No. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. 15 Daniil Medvedev; No. 4 Alexander Zverev against 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic; 2014 U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori against No. 23 Pablo Carreno-Busta; and No. 11 Borna Coric against No. 28 Lucas Pouille, who eliminated 19-year-old Australian wild-card entry Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-7 (10), 4-6, 6-3. Serena complimented Yastremska in the locker room after their match. “She said, like, ‘You’re young, you’re very good and you will be a good player in the future.’ It’s nice to hear those words from a legend,” said the 57th-ranked Yastremska, who eliminated 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur in the first round and 23rd-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro in the second. “If she thinks so,” Yastremska added about Williams, “then maybe that’s true.” Williams grabbed a pair of service breaks and a 4-0 lead after less than 15 minutes and was well on her way to yet another easy-looking win. Right from the start, Yastremska appeared a bit jittery, missing 9 of 10 first serves and double-faulting three times while getting broken in each of her opening two service games. By the end of the first set, the teenager had 13 unforced errors, nine more than Serena. It didn’t get much better in the second set, and Serena wound up with eight aces while facing zero break points, and a 20-13 ratio of winners to unforced errors. Yastremska was born in 2000, the year after Serena won her initial major, and grew up cheering for someone she calls “a legend.” Yastremska recalls swinging her racket in the living room at home while watching on TV at age 8 as her favourite player competed. Surely, everything felt a tad different up-close-and-personal with the 37-year-old American in Rod Laver Arena. What separates Williams from other top players? “Everything. Small details. Her discipline. Her quality of the shots. How (committed) she is to every ball,” Yastremska said. “She (is) completely different. I don’t know how to describe that. It’s just there’s something special. What I’m trying to do is to go to the level that people are going to talk about me the same, that I have something special.” Read more about:<doc-sep>Andy Brownbill/Associated Press Serena Williams said seeing opponent Dayana Yastremska cry after Williams' 6-2, 6-1 victory Saturday at the 2019 Australian Open made her emotional as well. Sandra Harwitt of USA Today provided comments from the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, who called the 18-year-old Ukrainian "a good talent." "As she was walking towards the net, I could tell she was quite upset," Williams said. "I kind of liked that. It shows she wasn't just there to play a good match; she was there to win. She wanted to win. That really broke my heart." The 37-year-old American was dominant in every facet of the third-round match. She racked up eight aces, won 84.6 percent of the points on her first serve and converted five of her 12 break opportunities, while Yastremska didn't generate any break points. The rising star—who defeated Samantha Stosur and Carla Suarez Navarro to reach Round 3—sounded upbeat in a later Instagram post. "Learned here in AO a great lesson for the future to come," she wrote. "The season has just started!" Williams advanced to a star-studded clash with top-seeded Simona Halep in the fourth round. Video Play Button Videos you might like Halep defeated Serena's sister Venus 6-2, 6-3 in one of Saturday's other matches in Australia.<doc-sep>Dayana Yastremska broke Serena Williams's heart when she broke down after losing to the 23-time Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open on Saturday. Here RT sport gives you the lowdown on the Ukrainian teenage tennis sensation. Odessa native Yastremska was dumped out of the 2019 Grand Slam season opener, losing in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 to her childhood "idol" Williams, who is favorite for the title and to win a record-equalling 24th major, at Rod Laver Arena, which reduced her to tears on the match's conclusion. Noticing Yastremska had become upset, Williams nobly strode over to the young pro to console her, telling the world number 57 "you did amazing, don't cry!" and sharing an embrace. Yastremska seemed to take it in her stride, later posting on Instagram..."Learned here in Australian Open a great lesson for the future to come. The season has just started!" and sharing a touching Instagram story of the moment Williams comforted her with the caption: "I took huge experience, next time, I'm gonna use it!" Also on rt.com 'You did amazing, don't cry! ': Serena consoles tearful teenager Yastremska at Aus Open (VIDEO) Reaching the third round was Yastremska’s best showing. She did that by battling back to defeat Carla Suárez Navarro from Spain 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in her first round match Down Under and to set up a second round date with home favorite Samantha Stosur. The experienced Australian and 2011 US Open winner was dazzled off the court by a player nearly half her age 7-5, 6-2, to set up the date with Williams, whom she named her tennis hero growing up. Yastremska wasn’t even born when Williams won her first major singles title in 1999. Born in 2000, she began playing tennis aged just 5 and grew up idolizing the American, eventually climbing the rankings to today be within only 41 ranking places behind the tennis legend. As a junior player, Yastremska did reach a final at the Australian Open, that came in the doubles event in 2016 with partner Anastasia Zarycká, and as a singles player reached the final of the Wimbledon junior tournament, losing to Russian Anastasia Potapova. Two years later, she featured at the US Open, exiting in the first round and the in the early stages at Wimbledon. Yastremska has won three senior singles titles including the Hong Kong Open last October. Williams predicted a big future for the youngster, who later let reporters know what the star told her in the locker room after the match. “She said ‘don’t cry, you’re still young ... come on you don’t have to cry’,” the Ukrainian said. “She told me a couple of nice words when we met in the changing room. She said ‘you are young, you are very good and you will be a good player in the future'. "It’s nice to hear those words from a legend. If she thinks so then maybe that’s true. What I’m trying to do is to go to the level that people are going to talk about me the same, that I have something special.” If Williams predictions are anything to go by, we could be seeing a lot more of Yastremska in the tennis headlines.<doc-sep>
Sandra Harwitt Special to USA TODAY MELBOURNE — Ukrainian teen Dayana Yastremska idolized Serena Williams from the time she picked up a racket when she was 5. When watching Williams play on TV as a child, she imagined she was helping the former world No. 1 to win her matches. She also dreamed of a day when she might play Williams in a big match at a big arena. That day came on Saturday at the Australian Open when the two played a third-round encounter on Rod Laver Arena. That was where, at least when it came to the tennis, the 18-year-old Yastremska’s dream turned into a nightmare as Williams offered her a precise 6-2, 6-1 tennis lesson in all of 67 minutes. While Williams, 37, was marshaling a path to the fourth round without even facing a break point, Yastremska was seen sitting courtside at the changeovers shrugging her shoulders at her team. After Yastremska, serving, hit a backhand crosscourt way wide on a second match point, the two met at the net. Williams, channeling her maternal compassion, immediately told Yastremska, “You were amazing,” but the Ukrainian bit her lip as she fought back tears. Williams then told her “don’t cry” and the two hugged. More:US Open champion Naomi Osaka survives third-round scare “I thought she was amazing,” said Williams, when on-court announcer Sam Smith mentioned Yastremska appeared intimidated. “She came out swinging.” Later, Williams said she believes Yastremska's post-defeat reaction was actually a great positive. “As she was walking towards the net, I could tell she was quite upset,” Williams said. “I kind of liked that. It shows she wasn’t just there to play a good match, she was there to win. She wanted to win. That really broke my heart. “I think she’s a good talent. It’s good to see that attitude.” When asked if she ever experienced that reaction when playing a match in her teens, Williams said she did as a younger player and as an adult. “Absolutely,” she said. “You go out there and you want to win. I remember one time in particular against Venus at Wimbledon, as I was walking to the net, I started bawling. I couldn’t help it.” Yastremska, who was born months after Williams won the first of 23 Grand Slam trophies at the 1999 US Open, doesn’t yet have the weapons or mind-set to challenge a player of Williams’ merit. She was playing only her fourth main draw Grand Slam match, while Williams was playing her 379th and now has a 334-45 record at the majors. Williams is hoping to win an eighth Australian Open title, which would enable her to tie Australian Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. At 4-1 in the second set, Yastremska had the trainer on court after she turned over her right ankle in the previous game. Williams next faces No. 1 Simona Halep, who beat Venus Williams 6-2, 6-3 in a later match Saturday.