Oldie Venus stays in orbit
Wears down Kvitova, faces stephens in semis
NEW YORK – Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams became the oldest semifinalist in US Open history at age 37 on Tuesday by defeating two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2).
US ninth seed Williams, seeking her third US Open crown, advanced to a Thursday matchup for a spot in Saturday’s final against 83rd-ranked compatriot Sloane Stephens.
Stephens, who missed 11 months with a left foot injury before returning at Wimbledon, matched her best Grand Slam showing by outlasting Latvian 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4).
Williams, who improved to 2-4 all-time against the Czech 13th seed, will return to the world top five for the first time since January 2011 after dominating the tiebreak.
“I’m so fortunate to have won that match. It came down to the wire,” Williams said. “I try to tell myself enjoy the competition, enjoy the battle and I think I was able to do that.”
Williams, the oldest Slam semi- finalist since Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1994, won the 2000 and 2001 US crowns.
She was runner-up this year at Wimbledon and the Australian Open and could reach three Slam finals in a year for the first time since 2002.
Kvitova battled back from a fivemonth absence after a knife-wielding home intruder injured her left hand last December.
Williams swatted a backhand winner to break for a 5-3 edge and held to take the first set but Kvitova led 3-0 when rain forced a closure of the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof.
Kvitova fought off two break points in the fifth and seventh games to hold on the way to a third set, then broke to lead 2-1 only to double fault away a break to set up the tiebreaker.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer faces big-hitting Juan Martin del Potro at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday in a rematch of the 2009 US Open final, which the Argentine won to claim his only grand slam.