Home sweet home for Venus Williams rolls back the years to stun Kerber at Miami Open
KEY BISCAYNE, Florida — Venus Williams whacked a winner on her fifth match point, then spun and threw a celebratory fist-pump at her father, who watched from the front row, munching popcorn.
The taste of victory never gets old.
Venus and her dad have been coming to Key Biscayne together for 20 years, and she moved a step closer to her first title at the venue since 2001 by beating top-ranked Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 on Wednesday night in the Miami Open quarterfinals.
It was Williams’ 15 th career win against a No 1 player, but her first since 2014.
The tournament was once known as the Williams Open because of the way Venus and Serena dominated. Now Venus, seeded 11th and 36 years old, is in the semifinals for the first time in seven years.
Her younger sister, an eighttime Key Biscayne champion, is out with a knee injury. But their father and coach, Richard, is attending a tournament for the first time in nearly a year after battling health issues.
He watched the quarterfinal in the photo pit along the baseline.
“My dad is one of the loves of my life and the reason I’m here in this game,” Venus told the fans, who responded with cheers.
Later she added: “He has always loved popcorn. We always ate popcorn together when I was a child. That’s a great childhood memory.”
Venus’ opponent on Thursday night will be No 10 Johanna Konta, who became the first British woman to reach a Key Biscayne semifinal by beating third seed Simona Halep 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2.
“She’s living the dream,” Williams said. “I’ve got a dream too.”
Second seed Karolina Pliskova will play No 12 seed Caroline Wozniacki in the other semifinal.
Williams has enjoyed a resurgence this year, reaching the Australian Open final before losing to her sister.
She took charge against Kerber when the German double-faulted on the final two points of the opening set, and broke serve twice more early in the second to pull away.
Kerber saved four match points before Williams sealed the win with a backhand.
It was a matchup of offense against defense, with Williams more aggressive and charging the net when she could.
“Sometimes I didn’t quite get it over that line, but I kept going for it,” Williams said. “I was aggressive, and that’s when I play my best.”
Kerber stayed rooted to the baseline and was on the defensive even when she served, facing 13 break points and losing serve five times.
She’ ll remain No 1 next week despite her loss. She reclaimed the top ranking this month after Indian Wells, replacing the sidelined Serena Williams.
Venus improved to 61-13 at Key Biscayne, where she made her debut in 1997 and won the title in 1998, 1999 and 2001.
She lives 90 minutes north in Palm Beach Garden and considers the tournament her hometown event.
She was the oldest woman to enter the draw but hasn’t yet been taxed physically, winning every set in her four matches.
Halep was only two points from victory in the second set, but could not put away her opponent, who pounced on the Romanian’s emotional fragility to prevail.
“It was a really tough match, very high level,” Halep said.
“I was so close to winning, I was two points away in the tiebreak, but she played very strong and deserved to win.”
Despite the result, Halep took comfort from a solid tournament as she works her way back from a knee injury.
“I’m happy to be here after the break that I had. I’m just disappointed I lost a match I had in my hands. But my confidence is there, the game is there, I just need to play matches.”
Tenth seed Konta, meanwhile, looked forward to a semifinal against Venus.
”Whoever I’m playing, I’ ll have a battle on my hands that’s for sure,” said the Australia-born Briton.
My dad is one of the loves of my life and the reason I’m here in this game.” Venus Williams, after reaching the Miami Open semifinals
Rafa Nadal moved into the Miami Open semifinals with a straight-sets win over American Jack Sock on Wednesday, while second seed Kei Nishikori was sent packing after going down 6-4, 6-2 to unseeded Italian Fabio Fognini.
Nadal staved off four break points to avoid going down a double-break early in the second set, a pivotal game that set the stage for his 6-2, 6-3 victory on the Crandon Park hardcourt.
Nadal’s poise and shotmaking came to the fore when 13th seed Sock threatened to take a stranglehold on the second set.
”That was the key of the second set, two-love (down), 15-40,” Nadal said. ”With three-zero against a player like Jack, you’ll probably be thinking third set.
“It was a double positive thing. I saved that game and got the break back (in the next game). The match was much closer than the result says.”
Nadal could face longtime nemesis Federer in the final. The Swiss had a Thursday quarterfinal against Tomas Berdych.
Federer and Nadal have met twice this year, with Federer winning both times – first, in a thrilling five-set Australian Open final and in a straight-sets, fourth-round thumping at Indian Wells two weeks ago.
But Nadal is not looking ahead to Federer, because his semifinal opponent Fognini presents a potential banana skin. Nadal has a 7-3 career record but is mindful he lost to the Italian in a fivesetter on a US Open hardcourt in 2015.
“It’s like a dream maybe,” said the 29-year-old Fognini after becoming the first unseeded player in 10 years to make the Miami semis.
”This is a big, big tournament for me. I’m happy about my performance. I’m just trying to be focused on my game and do my best.”