Serena Williams celebrates victory following her women's singles semifinal match at the 2018 US Open on Sept. 6, 2018 in Flushing, N.Y.
Less than two months after finishing as the runner-up at Wimbledon, Serena Williams is getting another chance at her 24th Grand Slam title.
The four-time Olympic gold medalist easily handled Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova in Thursday night’s US Open semifinal, 6-3, 6-0, in Flushing, New York, to advance to Saturday’s final. This is Williams’ first US Open final since 2014 when she won the tournament for the third straight year.
“Anything for me is a win,” she said in the televised on-court interview following the match. “To come this far this fast; I’m just beginning, you guys. This has only been a few months. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the year and next year.
“This is only the beginning.”
Sevastova was no match for Williams. But no one has been so far this tournament. She entered the match with a tournament-best 60 aces and winning 78 percent of her first-serve points.
The 19th-ranked Sevastova won the first two games, but she’d win only one more the rest of the match as Williams rattled off four wins in a row en route to a 6-3 first-set win.
She took each of the six games in the second set, thwarting every attempt by Sevastova to gain any momentum.
Williams was not only strong on her serve as the match wore on but dominating at the net as well. It took her just 23 minutes to win the first five games of the second set.
Williams returned to competition in March, six months after giving birth to her first child, during which she faced complications that included blood clots and a pulmonary embolism. She had to withdraw from the French Open due to injury prior to her Round of 16 match against Maria Sharapova, then lost to Angelique Kerber in the final of Wimbledon in July.
She is seeking her record-tying 24th Grand Slam title and first since becoming a mother. Her opponent will be the winner of the match between fellow American Madison Keys and Naomi Osaka of Japan.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
