Serena Williams into semis of the australian open 2016

Williams defeated Maria Sharapova 6-4 6-1 in an hour and 32 minutes.

Williams was broken in the opening game of the match, and looked slow and tentative.

Serving at 15-0 in the opening game, the world No.1 made four easy errors in a row to break herself.

She missed a forehand approach long, a routine backhand down the line that landed outside the doubles alley, missed a backhand approach, and then missed another backhand long.

The errors were so routine that it required a double take to try and figure out how they actually happened.

All Sharapova needed to do was put the ball in the court, and Williams was going to find a way to miss.

Sharapova held for 2-0, with Williams making three more uncharacteristic errors.