“I definitely never thought I would be playing still – now I don’t really see when I’m going to stop”.
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“It’s a huge number”, Williams told the Associated Press after the game.
Gael Monfils reached the second Grand Slam semi-final of his career on Tuesday, downing giant-killer Lucas Pouille 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the US Open last four.
“I really played the ideal point there, and she managed to stay alive”, Williams said.
The final set was similar in terms of style of play but also had added tension in the final games, with Navarro rallying from 3-5 down. I think when you really enjoy what you do, it’s different.
Konjuh will now face Czech 10th seed Karolina Pliskova, who saved a match point as she beat Venus Williams 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3). Then she got to 15-40 on Williams’ serve, creating two break points that Williams made vanish with three aces in a row, at 117, 109 and 122 miles per hour.
Since crashing out of Wimbledon during the quarterfinals, Halep has won nine of her last ten matches with a tournament win at home in Bucharest defeating Anastasija Sevastova in the final with a double bagel 6-0, 6-0. “When I came here I could only imagine playing the quarters”.
Fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska was shocked by 18-year-old Croatian Ana Konjuh 6-4, 6-4. “I really had some chances there and I didn’t take them, and I let that get the better of me”.
Serena Williams celebrates after beating Simona Halep in the quarters of the US Open 2016.
“I think if anything, that’s the biggest silver lining I take”.
If Williams wins the U.S. Open, she’ll boost that number to 311 and earn her 23rd major title. “For that to be Grand Slam is pretty cool”.
She has, though, yet to face a seeded player and the level of competition will increase significantly on Wednesday.
Kerber’s run to the quarter-finals means Williams must at least reach the final to stay top for a 187th consecutive week, which would also be a record.
Perhaps even more significantly, the win put the 34-year-old into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open and just three victories away from an even more significant record. Through the first six games, when the score was 3-all, there had been four service breaks and the players had combined for 26 unforced errors, accounting for almost half of the match’s points until then. After what had been a disappointing, injury-plagued season, her ranking is projected to soar to a career-best No. 51.
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Pliskova had to battle back from the brink as she trailed Williams by a set and 3-1, and then 5-4 in the decider, when the American came within a point of victory on her opponent’s serve.
