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Serena Williams twice came from behind to complete a
heart-stopping 7-6, 7-6 win over her older sister Venus and
claim a place in the U.S. Open semi-finals on Wednesday.
In a match of high quality where no quarter was given, Serena
trailed 5-2 in the second set tiebreak before clawing her way
back to seal victory in two hour 25 minutes.
Twice champion Serena, the fourth seed, saved eight set
points in the second set before seventh-seeded Venus hit a
forehand long to surrender the match. |
 "It
definitely felt like a final of the U.S.
Open, it was so hard," a breathless Serena
said in a courtside interview. "I can't
believe I won it. Wow!
"It is difficult, mostly because she is
such a great player. She was serving balls
at 125, 127 mph and I just tried to stay
with her."
Serena, who edged ahead 9-8 in overall
meetings between the siblings, will next
meet sixth-seeded Russian Dinara Safina
for a
place in the final.
Watched by a capacity crowd of 23,000 in
the Arthur Ashe Stadium for the evening
contest, Venus made a confident start in
the opening set.
Unleashing an array of devastating
groundstrokes, the 28-year-old set up a
break point in the third game of the match
which she converted via a fortunate net
cord.
CLENCHED FIST
Serving for the set at 5-4, she was then
broken by her sister who clenched her
right fist in celebration after forcing an
error from Venus with a rasping forehand
down the line.
After the next two games went with serve,
Venus seized an early advantage in the
tiebreak to lead 6-4 before Serena fought
back to clinch the opening set in 66
minutes.
Venus again took the initiative in the
second set, breaking Serena in the sixth
game to open up a commanding 5-3 lead.
With the set seemingly within her grasp,
she streaked into a 40-love lead on serve
before inexplicably squandering three set
points with a vulnerable backhand.
Serena, who had been pinning her sister to
the baseline with deep ground strokes,
earned a breakpoint which she won when
Venus narrowly hit a backhand wide of the
line.
The second set also went into a tiebreak
and again the big-serving Venus appeared
to be in control, earning a standing
ovation after she won a protracted rally
to take a 5-2 lead.
Serena, champion here in 1999 and 2002,
refused to buckle and, with Venus
beginning to lose control of her ground
strokes, the younger sister finally booked
her place in the last four. |
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