Melbourne: Serena Williams squandered four match points and blew a 5-1 lead in the deciding set as seventh seed Karolina Pliskova produced a fightback for the ages to claim a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 quarterfinal win over the American great at the Australian Open tennis tournament here Wednesday.
Williams, chasing a milestone 24th Grand Slam triumph, also saved two match points in the last game but netted on the third as the big-serving Czech shocked a packed Rod Laver Arena with her remarkable rally from the brink of defeat.
The brave Pliskova advanced to meet Naomi Osaka in the last four, denying Williams a chance to avenge her controversial US Open final defeat to the Japanese fourth seed. The 26-year-old former World No.1, chasing her maiden Grand Slam title, is the second Czech into the semifinals after double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova thrashed home favourite Ashleigh Barty Tuesday to book a match with Danielle Collins.
Williams, seeded 16th as she continues her return from maternity leave, rolled her ankle when serving for the match at 5-1. She promptly double-faulted after missing a passing shot on her first match point and was broken after dumping a backhand into the net.
Pliskova held on grimly, saving three more match points when serving to stay alive at 5-4, before breaking Williams to love and charging to 40-0 in the final game. Williams saved two of the match points, the second with a courageous backhand winner, but Pliskova held firm to add another highlight to a tournament laden with upsets.
Osaka enters semis
US Open champion Naomi Osaka managed to keep a lid on her simmering temper and powered to a 6-4, 6-1 win over Elina Svitolina here Wednesday to book a spot in the Australian Open semfinals for the first time.
The 21-year-old, who will play Karolina Pliskova for a place in the final, committed a string of unforced errors but still proved too strong for the sixth-seeded Ukrainian. Osaka wrapped up the win in an hour and 12 minutes to become the first Japanese woman to reach the last four at Melbourne Park since Kimiko Date in 1994.
Williams, a 23-times major winner, squandered four match points and blew a 5-1 lead in the decider to fall to seventh seed Pliskova 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in the last quarterfinal of the women’s draw. Osaka’s power was on full display against WTA Finals champion Svitolina, with the Japanese thumping 31 winners to her opponent’s 11. But she was also sloppy at times, committing 25 unforced errors, nine more than Svitolina.
Ukrainian Svitolina, 24, kept her errors in check to get two service breaks back and stay in the opening set at 4-5. Osaka blew three set point opportunities on Svitolina’s next serve with three embarrassing errors, berating herself with angry slaps on the thigh.
However, the Japanese gathered herself and hit a crisp backhand to set up a fourth chance, and converted it when Svitolina thumped a return into the net. Svitolina took a medical timeout in the second set for neck and shoulder problems with Osaka up 3-0 but she was broken again after returning to the court.