Serena, Mirjana set up date, to end almost 18-year wait
MIRJANAANDSERENA PLAYED EACH OTHER TWICE IN 1998, INCLUDING IN THE SECOND ROUND OF WIMBLEDON. THEY HAVEN’T PLAYED SINCE
The last time Serena Williams and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni played each other, nearly two decades ago at Wimbledon, they were both precocious teenagers just starting their careers.
Now, the two 30-something women will meet again in the semifinals of the Australian Open, a tournament that’s starting to have a distinct throwback feel.
Serena Williams, 35, reached her 10th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Johanna Konta on Wednesday, while Lucic-Baroni, 34, upset fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, to advance to her first major semifinal in nearly 18 years.
“Thirties is the new 10,” Serena said. “No matter what happens, someone 34 or older will be in the final.”
Serena was tested by Konta in the second set when the Brit broke her to go up 2-1. But Serena broke back at love to level the score at 3-all and saved another break point in her next service game before closing out the match. She finished with 10 aces, but only connected on 45 percent of her first serves overall.
“The main focus is actually my serve,” said Serena, who is aiming for a record 23rd Grand Slam title. “I got a little frustrated, but then I just told myself, ‘Serena, stop complaining. Don’t be Baby Rena out here.’”
Lucic-Baroni advanced to the last four at a major for the first time since her run to the Wimbledon semifinals in 1999 at the age of 17. The last time she made it this far, Lucic-Baroni also had to face a woman with 22 majors Steffi Graf. Graf won their semifinal match, but fell short in her bid to win her 23rd major title against Lindsay Davenport.
The 79th-ranked Lucic-Baroni is surprised she is getting another chance at this stage of her career. “I know this means a lot to every player to reach the semifinals, but to me, this is just overwhelming,” she said, in tears, after the match. “This has truly made my life and everything bad that happened, it has made it OK.”
She and Serena played each other twice in 1998, including in the second round of Wimbledon, a match won by Williams. They haven’t played on tour since.