Williams’ very first win at a Grand Slam tournament came way back when she was 16, a 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-1 victory over Irina Spirlea in the first round of the Australian Open on January 19, 1998.
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While Halep headed home, Williams knew she needed to recover quickly to return for her Thursday night semifinal against Karolina Pliskova, a stately Czech who outlasted Williams’ sister, Venus, in a three-set match during the Open’s fourth round.
Williams beat Yaroslava Shvedova 6-2, 6-3 in the fourth round for her 308th Grand Slam match victory, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for most in the Open era, which dates to 1968.
Williams had dominated the first set with six aces and three breaks of serve, but Halep had become the first woman at this year’s US Open to break the American’s serve, and she posed a greater challenge in the second set.
“I’m glad I got tested”, Williams said.
Case for Pliskova: Right now, she has some absurd momentum working for her. “I’m just going there to play a good match and to win the match”.
Almost two decades later, through plenty of highs and lows, from championships to health scares, the younger Williams is still at it – and still winning.
She has, though, yet to face a seeded player and the level of competition will increase significantly on Wednesday.
“I’m trying to improve, of course, my mental side, because I know I need to stay focused on my game, trying to be here in this moment and not thinking about what’s happened and just thinking about the positive things”, Kerber said. So, when she does run into a seeded player for the first time, Halep might have a chance to catch Serena off guard early on.
The world No.1 prevailed 6-2 4-6 6-3 over the Romanian fifth seed in their quarter-final on Wednesday night. The No. 5 Halep, the 2014 French Open runner-up, was the first seeded player Williams faced in the draw.
Williams’s semi-final against Pliskova promises more fireworks. In the second game of the second set, Halep fought off no fewer than seven break points.
Serena admits that getting title number 23 is a huge undertaking and could be very significant for her.
Serena Williams will move through to the semi-finals with a straight-sets win, securing her chance to take her seventh crown at Flushing Meadows. “I tried my best”.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I don’t care at what time it came”.
Pliskova is fresh off a win over Venus Williams in the Round of 16 and will be favored over the unseeded Konjuh.
Heading into the U.S. Open, Pliskova was the only current member of the top 20 in the WTA rankings who never had even been past the third round at a major.
But Kerber’s left-handed power game and ever-growing confidence broke right back, and Vinci lost the set in the most unfortunate manner.
Serena Williams reacts after a point against Yaroslava Shvedova, of Kazakhstan, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in NY. The semifinal against Pliskova is the first one, followed by a potential final against either Angelique Kerber or Caroline Wozniacki.
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She produced just three unforced errors in winning the second set 6-0. Serena hopes to make her eighth grand slam final in her last nine tries.
