Williams courting history in New York
NEW YORK Serena Williams was a bit shaky at the start of her U.S. Open semifinal. For all of six minutes.
That’s how long it took for her to drop the opening two games Thursday night. Williams spent the next hour playing flawlessly, particularly at the net, to beat No. 19 Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-3, 6-0 and reach her ninth final at Flushing Meadows and 31st at all Grand Slam tournaments.
“I have won a few doubles championships, so I know how to volley,” Williams said with a laugh. “I just usually come in only to shake hands.”
With one more victory, Williams will earn her seventh U.S. Open championship and her 24th major singles trophy, equalling Margaret Court for the most in tennis history. Williams already owns the mark for the most in the halfcentury professional era; Court won some of hers against amateur competition.
On Saturday, Williams will face No. 20 Naomi Osaka, 20, who is the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam final.
Osaka saved all 13 break points she faced Thursday and defeated 2017 runner-up Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4.
Asked during her on-court interview how she managed to stave off all of those break chances, Osaka said with a laugh, “This is going to sound really bad, but I was just thinking, ‘I really want to play Serena.’”
Why?
“Because she’s Serena,” Osaka said. “Like, what do you mean?”
Williams had lost in the semifinals in her previous two trips to New York, against Roberta Vinci in 2015 while bidding for a calendaryear Grand Slam and against Karolina Pliskova in 2016.
Now comes a chance to take home a title and become, a few weeks shy of turning 37, the oldest woman to win a Slam in singles.
“It’s honestly really incredible. A year ago, I was fighting for, literally, my life at the hospital after I had the baby,” Williams said, her voice wavering.