Wimbledon 2019: Serena Williams, Simona Halep through to semi-finals
A supreme Serena Williams had to battle all the way but says she feels something special within after her latest triumph, while familiar foe Simona Halep remains on course for the first Wimbledon crown.
Tennis
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After months of torment, Serena Williams can see light – and Margaret Court’s grand slam record – at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
Finally injury-free after struggling with knee soreness, the 37-year-old American is within two wins of reaching Court’s tally of 24 majors.
Williams, who faces Czech veteran Barbora Strycova for a place in Saturday’s final, clearly believes an eighth Wimbledon crown is within grasp after a season filled with frustration.
SEE BELOW FOR REPORT ON SIMONA HALEP’S MATCH
“This is the first time since Australia that I actually felt, like, good,” she said after reaching Thursday’s semi-finals.
“It’s been a really, really long year for me already, and hard year, because I’m usually not typically injured.
“Now that I feel good, I can actually focus on training and technique and practice, something that I just literally haven’t been able to do a lot of.”
Having lost two major finals – last season’s Wimbledon and US Open deciders – since resuming after childbirth, Williams clearly means business.
“I believe in myself. I believe if I’m feeling well, I can be a big competitor in a sport that I love and I’ve done so well at,” she said.
“So just the key word is getting fit and getting back into match play injury-free.
“So now that I am, I can kind of actually start to, like I say, just play tennis. That has been literally something that I have not been able to do all year.”
The only other major winner still in contention, Halep is playing with renewed freedom.
“The pressure is off, but it’s been since last year,” she said.
“French Open (victory) was not a negative pressure. I felt it because, of course, I was the defending champion.
“But it was a new experience. I saw how it is to lose after you win a title. Nobody died.
“I just came here relaxed. I came here motivated to see how good I can be on grass. I’m happy on court. I think this helps me a lot.”
Williams scrambled into the last four with a 6-4 4-6 6-3 victory over compatriot Alison Riske as Strycova put Konta to the sword 7-6 (7-5) 6-1.
Williams needed 19 aces and 49 winners to quell world No.54 Riske.
The winner of the Williams and Strycova clash will meet either former world No 1 Simona Halep or eighth seed Elina Svitolina in the final.
Victory on Thursday would shunt Williams into her 11th final with the opportunity to equal Court’s record, which has stood since 1973.
Williams would be the second-oldest player – at 37 years, 193 days – to reach a Wimbledon final behind nine-time champion Martina Navratilova (37 years, 258 days in 1994).
She is currently tied with German Steffi Graf with seven titles (2002-3, 2009-10, 2012 and 2015-16).
The American’s three Wimbledon final defeats have come against three different players – Maria Sharapova (2004), Venus Williams (2008) and Angelique Kerber (2018).
The victory was Williams’ 97th from 108 matches at Wimbledon.
Only nine-time champion Navratilova (120-14) has won more.
Williams had to dig deep to survive Riske, recovering from an early service break in the third set.
Despite the glut of winners, it was hardly a vintage Williams’ display of power and accuracy, but there was signature ferocity.
She trailed Riske 1-3 as the Americans traded two service breaks each in the opening set.
The former world No.11 finally edged ahead when Riske cracked for a third time.
Apparently steaming towards victory, Williams was ambushed in the ninth game of the second set when Riske conjured a forehand half-volley drop shot to break serve.
Williams had her right foot re-taped during the changeover before Riske drew four unforced errors to level the match.
Riske continued the rampage to pinch a service break in the opening game of the decider before Williams came roaring back as Riske choked.
Bluffing at every opportunity, Williams disrupted Riske mentally and when the underdog lost serve with an atrocious double fault to trail 1-3, Williams seemed home.
Riske regrouped and broke back but then stumbled again with another double to fall behind 3-5.
Eventually, after struggling for 2hrs,1min, Williams got the job with an emphatic final service game.
Halep sees off Zhang challenge
Simona Halep is coveting maiden Wimbledon glory after terminating Zhang Shuai’s giant-killing All England Club run.
The former world No.1 weathered a torrid opening before cruising to a 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 success over China’s world No.50.
Aware just how dangerous Zhang is after the baseliner toppled 14th seed Caroline Wozniacki, and 23rd seed Caroline Garcia, Halep took time to settle.
But once she found her groove, the 2018 French Open champion was too solid and swept into her second Wimbledon semi-final.
The Romanian will face either Ukrainian eighth seed Elina Svitolina or unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova for a place in Saturday’s final.
Halep faced a huge first-set deficit before clambering out of a 1-4 hole.
Zhang, who lost her first 14 grand slam contests and had never won a match at Wimbledon, was suddenly on the brink of a massive upset.
But Halep refused to panic, methodically working her way back onto terms before racing away from the Chinese baseliner.
“I fought hard in the first set even I was down 4-1,” she said.
“I knew she was going to come with a lot of power and today I knew I had to be strong and play a lot of aggression and I did great.
“I have energy, I feel fresh, I feel confident when I step on the grasscourt.
“I will prepare well for my next match and be ready.”
Women’s semi-final head to heads
Serena Williams (US) v Barbora Strycova (Cze)
Serena Williams
Age: 37
Ranking: 10
Titles: 72
Grand slam titles: 23
Prizemoney: $128,283,055
Coaches: Richard Williams, Oracene Price, Patrick Mouratoglou.
Barbora Strycova
Age: 33
Ranking: 54
Titles: 2
Grand slam titles: 0
Prizemoney: $14,187,104
Coaches: David Kotyza, Lukas Dlouhy
Head to head: Williams leads 3-0. Williams won 6-2 6-2 at Wimbledon in 2012.
Simona Halep (Rom) v Elina Svitolina (Ukr)
Simona Halep
Age: 27
Ranking: 7
Titles: 18
Grand slam titles: 1
Prizemoney: $43,581,618
Coach: Daniel Dobre
Elina Svitolina
Age: 24
Ranking: 8
Titles: 13
Grand slam titles: 0
Prizemoney: $20,572,802
Coach: Andrew Bettles
Head to head: Svitolina leads 4-3. They have never played on grass.
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