The knives were out for Serena Williams almost before she left Melbourne Park here yesterday, surprisingly beaten by Ekaterina Makerova of Russia, and with many experts ready to write her off.
The five-times champion's game was all over the place and, though the Russian played well above her ranking of 56 on her way to a first grand slam quarter-final appearance, watching Williams spray the ball everywhere bar the court made for tough viewing.
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