After Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki made the semifinals on Tuesday, Serena Williams and Karolina Pliskova completed the final four on Wednesday, getting past Simona Halep and Ana Konjuh, respectively. The Williams vs. Pliskova match-up will be an encounter of two WTA’s biggest hitters when it comes to aces: Pliskova leads with 439, while Williams lags behind with 320.
World No.11 Pliskova comfortably defeated Ana Konjuh 6-2 6-2, in a match that was a Grand Slam quarterfinal debut for both of them. The Czech, who won 92% of points behind her first serve against Konjuh, is now on an impressive 10-match winning streak, which includes the Western & Southern Open title and four Top 10 victories (Svetlana Kuznetsova, Garbine Muguruza, Angelique Kerber and Venus Williams).
The last player to join the final four was Williams, who overcame Simona Halep 6-2 4-6 6-3 in one of the best matches this season. After winning the first set in 33 minutes, the top-seeded Williams lost the second set, as Halep saved as much as 12 break points (all the break points she faced!) and forced the decider on her fifth set point. However, Williams needed just one break point to establish a decisive lead in the third set and made her way into her sixth straight US Open semifinal.
Williams leads Pliskova 1-0 in their head-to-head stats and if the American wants to remain No.1, she’ll have to advance to the US Open final, while if Angelique Kerber wins her semifinal, Williams will have to clinch the title.
