As statements go, this was written in bold capitals and underscored for effect. Serena Williams, at her authoritative best, delivered a crushing defeat to Justine Henin, the world No.1, in the quarter-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open here, grabbing the match by the scruff of the neck and never letting go.

The last time Serena pounded the Belgian so ruthlessly was in the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2003 but yesterday she was even more dominant as she won 6-2, 6-0. The vagaries of the ranking system means that she will drop out of the top ten on the WTA Tour if she does not win this title for the fifth time in seven years on Saturday, but do not be fooled. Serena is very much in the mood.

The tournament had announced its order of play in the manner of a 'Super Tuesday' but Henin did not live up to that billing, though she was never allowed to as Williams went about her business with the confidence that flowed when she, and not the Belgian, lauded it at the top of the rankings.

The only time Williams was troubled was when the sun shone directly into her eyes. She could have played with a parasol in one hand and a racket in the other, so dominant was she. Nothing in the Henin game perturbed her because Williams simply blasted her way through the champion. The game that summed up Henin's distraction was the sixth of the first set when, having broken back to trail 3-2, she double-faulted three times, lost serve and did not win another game.

Expert View

What a pity it was that those who subjected Davydenko to purgatory the last eight months were not there to applaud his win

Barry Flatman

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