New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Serena reaches US Open final
NEW YORK — With another U.S. Open final in sight, and Grand Slam title No. 24 within reach, Serena Williams got past a slightly shaky start and quickly took control.
Williams turned in an increasingly impressive performance for a 63, 61 victory over No. 5seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in their semifinal at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night.
This will be Williams’ fourth final in the past six major tournaments. She was the runnerup at Wimbledon each of the past two years, losing to Angelique Kerber in 2018 and to Simona Halep in July. And she was also the runnerup, of course, a year ago at Flushing Meadows, losing to Naomi Osaka.
That final was, and forever will be, overshadowed by Williams’ extended argument with chair umpire Carlos Ramos, who docked her a point, then a game — and was barred by the U.S. Tennis Association from officiating any matches in this year’s tournament involving her or her older sister, Venus.
So much of what Williams does nowadays must be seen through the prism of tennis history, and that was certainly the case this time. Her 101st career match win at Flushing Meadows tied Chris Evert’s tournament record.
“It’s just impressive, I guess,” Williams said. “I don’t think about it. I just come out here and do what I can.” Grand Slam singles titles, the most in tennis history. Court, though, won more than half of hers against amateur competition before professionals were allowed to play in majors starting in 1968.
This was Williams’ 38th Grand Slam semifinal; she made it that far for the 10th appearance in a row at Flushing Meadows.
And it was only the second time to the final four at a major for the 24yearold Svitolina, who also got there at Wimbledon in July.
Right from the start, though, it was Svitolina who was steadier. She earned three break points in the opening game — but failed to convert one. In the second game, Svitolina went ahead 40love — yet somehow got broken.
In all, Svitolina held eight game points across that opening pair, and was left with nothing to show for it. Quickly, it was 30 for Williams.
If it wasn’t as lopsided a performance as she put forth in a 61, 61 victory over Maria Sharapova in the first round or a 61, 60 win over Wang Qiang in the quarterfinals, it was pretty dialedin.