Serena Williams passed her toughest test so far at the US Open to beat Karolina Pliskova and reach the semi-finals for a ninth consecutive time.
Williams, seeded 17th, trailed in the first set but hit back to win 6-4 6-3 against the Czech eighth seed.
The American, 36, is seeking her first Grand Slam trophy since giving birth to daughter Olympia last September.
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If she wins it would be her 24th major title – equalling Australian Margaret Court’s all-time record.
Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, who knocked out defending champion Sloane Stephens earlier on Tuesday, waits in the last four. Williams is only playing her eighth tournament since becoming a mum, but had only dropped one set – in her last-16 match against Latvia’s Kaia Kanepi – on her way to the last eight.
However, having lost to Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final, there were question marks how she would fare against another high-calibre player.
After a slow start against the big-serving former number one, Williams grew into the match as she responded to some vociferous backing from Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The six-time US champion won eight games in a row – four at the end of the first and four at the start of the second – to help her secure victory in one hour 26 minutes.
It was her first win over a top-10 ranked player since beating Britain’s Johanna Konta at the 2017 Australian Open.
Pliskova left to rue missed chances
Williams suffered a chastening defeat by Pliskova, who had a brief spell as world number one last year, when they last met each other in the 2016 US Open semi-finals.
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And it looked like she could face more trouble when 26-year-old Pliskova threatened to go a double break up in the first set.
The tall Czech was unable to convert either for a 4-2 lead with her service game next – and that was the momentum-changing moment in what had promised to be an engrossing match.
Williams upped her number of winners as Pliskova’s unforced error count grew, a pattern which continued in the early part of the second set.
Little danger seemed apparent for Williams when Pliskova clawed one break back for 4-1, only for the tension to grow when the world number eight moved 40-0 ahead on the American’s serve in the seventh game.
Williams responded with some huge serving to see off four break points, averting danger for a 5-2 lead and allowing her to wrap up victory in her next service game.
Source: BBC