She lost just one point on her serve in the first set Wednesday and never faced a break point.
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The victor of the Serena vs Halep match will play either Ana Konjuh, the 18-year-old, who knocked out Agnieszka Radwanska in the previous round, or Karolina Pliskova, the No.10 seed who got the better of Venus Williams.
Williams booked her spot in the semi-finals on Wednesday after withstanding fifth seed Halep 6-2 4-6 6-3. Kerber was broken three times in the first set, but whereas in the past such scratchy play would have led her off an emotional cliff, now it only redoubled her determination to find her form.
“I’m glad I got tested”. “I don’t know. We’ll see”, Williams said during her on-court interview after reaching the U.S. Open quarterfinals by beating Yaroslava Shvedova 6-2, 6-3.
“I haven’t played against many big servers recently but she places her serve really well”. Neither has Pliskova, who had not even been past the third round at major until now.
“I don’t really like coming to the net, to be honest”, Williams said.
I didn’t have to be too amped up [to play Halep] because it’s the quarter-finals and it’s a tough player. “I m just trying to play my way into this tournament”.
She can also take heart from her ability to produce some massive serves when she needed them, especially after a sore right shoulder prevented her from even practicing her serve much in the build up to the tournament. Both women stayed close with each other with Williams showing fine touch with one of several suprise drop shot winners she hit on the night.
Williams posted a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory at the celebrity-filled Arthur Ashe Stadium that included Tony Bennett, Queen Latifah, Odell Beckham Jr. and Draymond Green.
The US superstar has won seven of eight career meetings with Halep, the Romanian taking a surprise 6-0, 6-2 victory at the 2014 WTA Finals.
In the fourth game of the third set, Williams broke Halep to go up 3-1.
On the women’s side, it doesn’t matter to Caroline Wozniacki that she’s ranked 74th. I think that’s the beauty, one of the reasons I’m able to hang. In Kerber’s case, her increased confidence apparently came from a few days hitting past year with a retired player: none other than the legendary Steffi Graf, whose ranking record Serena Williams is on the verge of overtaking. If the pair meet in the final, then Williams must win.
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Tsonga said when the pain came Tuesday, “I knew it was over for me straightaway”. On the line: a 23rd Grand Slam singles title, which would break the Open era record she shares with Steffi Graf, and the No. 1 ranking, something she has held for 186 consecutive weeks.
