Serena Secures Title 49

(Rank/Seed)

It wasn't as easy as most people would've perhaps predicted, but it ultimately ended with the expected result; (1/1) Williams beating (18/9) Jankovic 36 60 62. Serena had beaten big sister Venus in a dramatically underwhelming semi 61 62 with Venus barely able to find the court. Jankovic edged surprise package Voegele 64 67(6) 62, from 0-2 down in the third in her semi. Serena was looking for a third straight title in Charleston, having won in 2008 and 2012, whilst Jelena looked for her second after winning back in 2007. Serena led the head to head 5-4 going in, but had lost their only previous clay court meeting in Rome 2010.

1st Set
Serena played surprisingly edgy tennis and was forced behind the baseline by Jankovic, whose improved first serve damaged her opponent. Both players hit 12 winners, but Jankovic upset the form books by breaking Serena's serve twice to win the set.

2nd Set
After a brief skirmish between the players over a return of serve, Serena got going, playing further up the court. Whereas in the first set she lost all the close games, here she converted them all as Jankovic let several leads in games slip.

3rd Set
By now, Williams had assumed control and though Jelena won two games, Serena dictated the pace and Jankovic's long week took its toll. Overall, she'd been on court twice as long as Serena and playing a long match defending against Serena is tough enough anyway. Though Jankovic out aced Serena, Williams was controlled eventually to win a third title in Charleston and in 2013.

Meanwhile, in Monterrey, Mexico, Pavlyuchenkova came from behind to beat (6/1) Kerber 46 62 64 to remain unbeaten in all three appearances at the event. Kerber had twice been pushed to three sets en route to her first final of the year, including beating Kirilenko in the semis. However, so far this year she's been losing a lot to lower ranked players and this marks the second time this year that she's lost to the Russian.

Serena Coasts Through Rain Delays

The Family Circle Cup has been severely affected by rain and almost all Thursday's matches were postponed until Friday. This meant that some players, Serena included had to double up.

(Rank/Seed)

1/1 Williams handled the whole disruption with aplomb, beating Burdette 64 62 earlier on before emulating last years final victory over (19/6) Safarova 64 61; winning 10 of the last 11 games from 2-4 down in the first.

9/3 Stosur had already retired down 16 0-2 to Bouchard with that serious recent calf injury.

10/2/wc Wozniacki continued her recent slump as she was bundled out in the quarterfinals by world number 63 Voegele 36 64 63. Wozniacki had received a third round bye after Petkovic withdrew injured, whilst Voegele battled past seeded Suarez Navarro and then  Goerges in three sets. She ultimately executed her strategy to move the Dane around effectively; recovering from 1-3 down in the third to ultimately win five straight games and claim her first top 10 win. Pervak, Kuznetsova, Wang, Muguruza, Voegele; all non top 60 players at the time who've beaten Wozniacki so far this year. Her slump continues!

Serena Adapts Quickly

The transition between hard and clay courts in the space of days is a challenging one. Yet, the worlds top player managed it aptly to progress in her title defence.

(Rank/Seed)

1/1 Williams, fresh off her Miami title run, did what she needed to in order to beat an admittedly dangerous Italian Giorgi 62 63.

10/2 Wozniacki accepted a wild card here as she looks to emulate her title winning run of 2011. It started well with 61 61 win over Soler- Espinosa, putting her bad showing at Miami behind her.

9/3 Stosur returned from three weeks out because of a calf injury with a dominating 61 62 win over Erakovic, as she too looks to win a second title here, having won back in 2010.