Serena shakes off slow start to enter semis
Six-time US Open champion Serena Williams shook off a sluggish start to power past eighth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-3 yesterday morning (Singapore time) and into the US Open semi-finals.
The US superstar, chasing a record-equalling 24th major title, surrendered an early break to Pliskova, but she roared back with a streak of eight straight games to put away the opening set and take a 4-0 lead in the second against the woman who beat her in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows in 2016.
"Well, I don't know," Williams said of how she engineered the turnaround.
"The crowd was really rooting for me and I felt so bad because everyone was cheering and I wasn't winning and I thought I've got to try harder."
She finished the match with 13 aces and will take on Anastasija Sevastova for a place in the final after the 19th-seeded Latvian toppled defending champion Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-3.
There was a wobble for Williams as she dropped her serve in the second set, coughing up one of her five double-faults on break-point as Pliskova narrowed the gap to 4-1.
Williams fell behind again in the seventh game, but erased a 0-40 deficit with a 180kmh service winner followed by another service winner and an ace.
Pliskova got another chance when Williams batted a forehand into the net, but another booming serve, a backhand winner and an unreturnable serve saw her negotiate the danger.
Serving for the match at 5-3, Williams didn't allow any room for doubt, holding at love with two aces and an overhead smash followed by one last ace.
Williams' win over Pliskova was her first over a top-10 ranked opponent since returning to the WTA Tour in March following the birth of her first child.
"That's a really big step for me. Shocking, my first top-10 win," said Williams.
"I'm here to do my best."
If Williams triumphs at the US Open, she would break out of a tie with Chris Evert for most US Open titles and equal Margaret Court's all-time record for Grand Slams.
Meanwhile, world No. 3 Stephens, refused to blame the punishing afternoon heat and humidity for her lapses against Sevastova, including an inability to convert any of seven break chances in the opening set.
"I just really couldn't get anything to connect," Stephens said.
"Even when I did have my break opportunities, I just wasn't playing the points well at all. Mentally, physically, I just wasn't connecting." - AFP
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