Williams and Nadal survive scares to reach Open semis
Serena Williams began her US Open quarter-final tentatively. Her shots lacked their usual sting, her attitude its usual conviction.
She was facing the last player she lost to at Flushing Meadows, and perhaps that was the problem. After just 20 minutes on Wednesday, Williams was in danger of trailing by two service breaks. Not much later, the outcome was no longer in doubt, because the 23-time Grand Slam champion suddenly was in complete control.
Williams put aside some early shakiness and an early deficit, turning things around with an eight-game run en route to a 6-4, 6-3 victory over No 8 seed Karolina Pliskova for a spot in the semifinals.
Pliskova is a big server and hitter in her own right, someone who briefly spent time at No 1 in the WTA rankings and was the runner-up at the US Open in 2016, when she beat Williams in the semifinals. The 36-year-old American did not compete in New York a year ago, because she gave birth to her daughter during the tournament.
This time, Williams’ semifinal opponent will be No 19 seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia, who surprisingly beat defending champion Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-3.
Stephens, who said she had been dealing with a sinus infection, rued all of her wasted opportunities, most notably the seven break points she failed to convert in the first set.
Stephens was nearly joined in the exit queue by the men’s defending champion, with Rafael Nadal pushed to the brink by Dominic Thiem.
Nadal was shockingly shut out in the first set of his quarter-final, before coming back to beat the No. 9 seed 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) in 4 hours, 49 minutes.
It was only the fourth time in 282 career Grand Slam matches that Nadal lost a set by a 6-0 score, and is the first time he won the match after that kind of start.
This one was never easy: Nadal trailed by a break in the third set before taking it. He came within two points of victory late in the fourth set before being pushed to a fifth, where he was two points from a loss as Thiem matched him shot for shot.
But, Nadal held on in a thrilling final tiebreak, and is into the semifinals at a third consecutive major tournament as he bids for a fourth U.S. Open title and 18th Grand Slam trophy overall.
He’ll face 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals.