Williams fights off nerves for spot in semis
Serena Williams began her U.S. Open quarter-final tentatively. Her shots lacked their usual sting, her attitude its usual conviction.
She was facing the last player she lost to at Flushing Meadows. She kept looking up at her coach as if seeking solutions. After just 20 minutes Tuesday, Williams was in danger of trailing by two service breaks. Not much later, the outcome was no longer in doubt because the 23-time Grand Slam champion suddenly was in complete control.
Williams put aside some early shakiness, turning things around with an eight-game run en route to a 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 8 Karolina Pliskova for a spot in the semifinals. It was Williams’ first win over a top-10 player this season.
“I was playing really not a good game,” said Williams, who was a point from trailing 4-1 while making 22 of her 30 unforced errors in the first set. “I was thinking, ‘You know, I can play better.’ So that was the good news.”
Pliskova offered this guess about what was happening to Williams: “Maybe she was a little bit nervous.”
But that didn’t last long. Pliskova is a big server and hitter in her own right, someone who briefly spent time at No. 1 in the WTA rankings and was runner-up at the U.S. Open in 2016, when she beat Williams in the semifinals. The 36-year-old Williams did not compete in New York a year ago because she gave birth to her daughter.
This time, Williams’ semifinal opponent will be No. 19 Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia, who beat defending champion Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-3.
On the men’s side, John Isner’s bid to become the first American man in a dozen years to get to the final four at Flushing Meadows ended with a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 loss to No. 3 Juan Martin del Potro, who won the 2009 championship.
The Argentine next faces either defending champion Rafael Nadal or No. 9 Dominic Thiem Friday in the semifinals.