Serena stays serene, avoids upset bid

Williams: ‘I just had to button up and play hard’ to defeat Riske

WIMBLEDON, England — Slowed by a balky ankle, trailing by a service break in the third set of her Wimbledon quarterfinal, Serena Williams appeared to be in trouble Tuesday against an opponent playing the tournament of her life.

Williams was down, yes. But out? No way. And now she is two victories from that 24th Grand Slam title that’s been barely eluding her.

Lifting her play a much-needed notch down the stretch to grab the last three games, capping the comeback with her 19th ace — at 121 mph, no less — Williams reached the semifinals at the All England Club by gutting out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over 55thranked Alison Riske.

“I had to just button up and play hard,” said Williams, who owns seven Wimbledon titles. “She was playing her heart out.”

That she was. Riske, a 29-year-old from Pittsburgh, was appearing in her first major quarterfinal. For Williams, this was No. 51.

That might have made all the difference. It’s Williams who possesses boundless muscle memory in these situations, who knows what it takes to come through in the tightest contests on the biggest stages.

“I definitely thought maybe I had a peek here and there at a couple openings, but Serena really upped her level, as only a champion would,” Riske said.

“It was really, actually, very interesting for me to be on the opposite end, because I felt her up her game and her intensity,” Riske said with a smile. “Yeah, I hope she takes the title now.”

Even if Williams was hardly perfect, she got by, aided by her greatest-inthe-game serve and Riske’s miscues. Most glaringly, Riske double-faulted five times in the final set, at least somewhat a result of trying to do too much against William’s superb returns.

“It’s no secret that Serena has an amazing serve. But Serena has an equally-as-amazing return,” Riske said. “I’ve never played anyone that has a return like Serena. That put a lot of pressure on my serve.”

Next for the 37-year-old Williams will be a match against 54th-ranked Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at age 33 with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 victory over No. 19 Johanna Konta of Britain.

“A huge achievement for me,” said Strycova, who is playing in her 53rd

Kirsty Wigglesworth˜the Associated Press Serena Williams falls on a return attempt to fellow American Alison Riske in their Wimbledon women’s quarterfinal match Tuesday at the All England Club in London. Williams, dealing with a gimpy ankle, struggled to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory.