NEW YORK – Serena Williams has another shot at winning her first Grand Slam title since giving birth after defeating Anastasija Sevastova in 66 minutes in their US Open semifinal.
Williams, beaten by Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final in July, won 6-3 6-0 against Latvian 19th seed Sevastova.
The 36-year-old American will play Japan’s Naomi Osaka in today’s final after the 20th seed beat Madison Keys.
Victory will equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
“It is really incredible. A year ago I was literally fighting for my life at the hospital after having the baby,” said Williams, who missed last year’s US Open because of the birth of her child, Olympia. “Every day I step out on this court I am so grateful to have an opportunity to play this sport. So no matter what happens in any match, I already feel like I have already won.”
Williams made a slow start in front of an expectant crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium, which had the roof closed because of rain and thunderstorms.
She lost her serve in the first game and trailed Sevastova 2-0 before winning four in a row to take command.
Williams was out of the game for over a year after announcing her pregnancy in April 2017 and then giving birth last September.
Now, she is back playing at her home Grand Slam and looking close to her very best.
A dominant win over older sister Venus laid down a significant marker in the third round, before a straight-set win over Czech eighth seed Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-finals showed she was able to compete with the world’s best players once again.
That meant she came into her semi-final as the favorite against a player who had never before reached a Grand Slam semi-final.
But the ease with which she ran away with the match – winning 11 of the final 12 games and losing just 12 points in the second set – was startling.
“This is just the beginning. I’m only a few months in and really looking forward to the rest of the year and next year,” Williams said. “I just feel like there’s a lot of growth still to go in my game. That’s actually the most exciting part. Even though I’m not a spring chicken, I still have a very, very bright future.” (BBC)
