Serena Williams’s dream of winning her seventh US Open Grand Slam came to a halt after she lost the semi final match against Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova at Flushing Meadows.
The 10th seed Pliskova defeated Williams in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (5). This defeat also ended Williams’ 3-year reign as World No. 1 in WTA ranking.
Serena Williams bid to make history by wiining her 23rd Grand slam also came to an end as she could not move past Steffi Graf’s record.
The disappointed Williams said, “Karolina played great today. I think if she had played any less, then maybe I would have had a chance.” The 34-year-old World champion added, “So I think I wasn’t at 100 per cent, but I also think she played well. She deserved to win today.”
Serena Williams refused to use fatigue as an excuse for her loss, instead, she blamed her left knee injury which limited her mobility during the game.
In an interview with Reuters, she said, “OK, I’m not going to repeat myself. I wasn’t tired from yesterday’s match. If I can’t turn around after 24 hours and play again then I shouldn’t be on tour.
“I have been having some serious left knee problems. I wasn’t tired. Fatigue had absolutely nothing to do with it.
“I wasn’t able to move the way I wanted to move,” she added.
Williams and Pliskova’s match hardly lasted for one hour, 26 minutes. With this, Pliskova defeated both the Williams sisters in the tournament, as she won the fourth round beating 36-year-old Venus Williams in the women’s singles event on Monday.
Karolina Pliskova (Image source: Indian Express)
Karolina Pliskova will face Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the US Open women’s single finals. Kerber, who ascended to the number one spot in WTA ranking, defeated Caroline Wozniacki by 6-4 6-3 on Thursday.
