For the second-straight year, Serena Williams was upset in the US Open semi-finals, this time courtesy a dispiriting 6-2 7-6 (7-5) loss to Czech 10th seed Karolina Pliskova.
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Williams, who refused to answer questions about the rankings, and Graf also share the mark for most Grand Slam titles since 1968, when professionals were first admitted to majors.
Top seed Williams stayed on course to regain the title she has won six times at Flushing Meadows by beating Halep 6-2 4-6 6-3 at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday.
Such pressure was not lumped on Williams’ shoulders this U.S. Open, but the 34-year-old looked sluggish and slow-footed from the start, broken in the third and seventh games of the first set as Pliskova won it 6-2, in 26 minutes.
This time around, Pliskova earned the win, using her dominant serve (she has the most aces in the WTA this season) to keep Serena on her heels. Kerber beat Williams in the Australian Open final in January, then lost to her in the Wimbledon final in July.
“I am so excited to be in my first semi-final, especially in this tournament”.
Karolina Pliskova enters the 2016 US Open semifinals by defeating Croatian world no. 92 Ana Konjuh. “Now I don’t really see when I’m going to stop, because I’m just enjoying these moments out here, getting to break records that I didn’t even know existed or I didn’t even know was possible”.
Her 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over Halep saw her drop her first set all tournament having recorded wins over Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-3, Vania King 6-3, 6-3, Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-1 and Yaroslava Shvedova 6-2, 6-3 in her road to the final four.
She now coaches players at the Chris Evert Tennis Academy in her home state of Florida and said her relationship with Williams, who also trains in South Florida, is as a friend, not a mentor or coach.
After finishing previous year ranked 10th in the world, nobody could have predicted Kerber would go through 2016 as a three-time grand slam finalist and rated the finest female player on the planet.
If there is any knock left on Serena Williams’ illustrious career, it’s the notion that she hasn’t had a consistent rival throughout her reign. The issue had been at the root of her early exit in Rio and her loss at Wimbledon, but over the last week and a half, Williams had settled back into a rhythm on the court, appearing nearly unstoppable. “If I can’t turn around after 24 hours and play again then I shouldn’t be on tour”.
“(If) I could take that game, I think the story of the match would have been different”, Halep said. Then came Williams, never one to back down, going ahead 5-4, just two points from forcing a third set.
“Steffi is a great champion, a great person and I think she’s proud of me to be the next number one after her”.
Williams, who had to reach the final to have any chance of retaining top spot, relinquished the ranking to Germany’s Angelique Kerber. “Today on the court, you know, she found her rhythm and took the opportunities that I gave her”, Konjuh said in a post-match press conference.
Showing the heart of a champion, Williams battled back from a break down to force a tiebreak where she clawed back from 3-0 down to take a 4-3 lead.
“I can not be sad after all of this”, she said.
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Williams sparked into life, finally breaking Pliskova’s serve – to love – but the anticipated comeback was cut short in the tie-break. A second break point happened when Halep hit a lob that went long but she saved it with a forehand victor. “I feel like I could have played a lot better”.
