Serena Williams' Fans Shouldn't Be Worried After 3rd-Round Battle with Jie Zheng

Some Serena Williams' fans may be a little afraid that Williams is headed for another upset defeat. She bowed out of the French Open in the first round and out of the Australian Open in the fourth round.

While she could have an earlier exit than many expected, her struggles with Jie Zheng in the third-round shouldn't be seen as an indication of bad things to come.

Serena has always struggled with Zheng. In fact, their last two matches prior to their clash this morning have all gone to three sets.

Zheng's style and consistency tests Serena. She is 5'5" and she knows she can't match Serena's power. Instead she attempts to play safe and tries to hold her ground in hopes of having Serena make enough unforced errors.

It hasn't worked yet, as she has never beaten her.

On the flip side of things, I think this type of match could actually serve as a positive for Serena. An opponent like Zheng makes her take her time. She must use more touch and less instinctual play.

Zheng does not go for many winners—at least not against Serena. Her serve isn't imposing—it doesn't even consistently reach 100 miles-per-hour.

Essentially, playing Zheng gets Serena back to basics. With her enormous physical gifts, often times getting away from the basics is what causes her the most difficulty.

Serena's performance wasn't perfect by any stretch. She rode her serve a little too much today (23 aces), but none of the issues she had are beyond repair.

Her next match will surely be a tough task. She will face Yaroslava Shvedova in the fourth round. Shvedova is coming off a truly dominant performance in the third round.

She not only won in straight sets over French Open runner-up Sara Errani (6-0, 6-4), she recorded a Golden Set in the first set. For those that are unaware, that means she didn't allow a single point in the first set.

Obviously Serena Williams represents stiffer competition, but needless to say Shvedova is a formidable opponent. If Serena rebounds with a win over Shvedova she may be on a collision course with Maria Sharapova in the final.

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