Serena moves step closer to grand slam No 24 at US Open
Serena Williams moved to within two victories of a 24th grand slam with a straight sets victory over Karolina Pliskova in the US Open quarter-finals – but the American refused to look that far ahead.
Williams, with the memory of a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final still fresh in her mind, said: “I’d been a couple steps away at the last grand slam, so I’m definitely not ahead of myself.
“I still know that no matter whether I’m in the semi-finals or the finals, I have a really long way to go to win that. Again, that proved to be true at Wimbledon.”
The 36-year-old American, who is bidding for a record seventh title at Flushing Meadows, started sluggishly at the Arthur Ashe Stadium , allowing Czech Pliskova to take a 3-1 lead in the opening set.
With the heat rule in effect and junior matches on the outside courts suspended earlier in the day, Williams made 22 unforced errors in the opening set but showed all of her bigmatch pedigree to battle back and close out the set by winning the last four games.
“The crowd was really rooting for me and I felt so bad because everyone out here was cheering and I wasn’t winning so I thought I had to try harder,” Williams added.
“I really feel like right now I’m playing free. I was having a baby this time last year so I have nothing to prove.”
The second set was far more comfortable for the No 17 seed. Two successive breaks of serve allowed Williams to win her eighth game in a row and open up a 4-0 lead. She saw off a brief fightback from Pliskova before sending down her 13th ace to seal the match in one hour and 26 minutes.
“When I get to a grand slam, I feel I want to play really hard. I want to do really well. I love this game so maybe that’s why,” added Williams, who was beaten by Pliskova in the 2016 semi-finals.
Williams saved 10 of the 12 break points and struck 35 winners to Pliskova’s 12 to record her first victory over a player in the world’s top 10 since returning from maternity leave earlier this year.
“She’s one of the best players in the world,” Pliskova said. “Doesn’t matter that she’s number, what, 17 or 18 now. She’s still the strongest.
“She’s not going to give you anything. She’s just going to ace you or play the best points on your chances. That’s just how it is.”
Next up for Williams is a semi-final clash with 19th seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia.
“She’s been playing really well for actually a long time,” Williams said of her next opponent. “So obviously I know her game really well. She clearly knows mine. So she’s definitely someone that gets a lot of balls back and something I have to be ready for.
“Every match really means a lot to me. I kind of go out there and I just do the best that I can.”