NEW YORK (AP)– Matapos ang mabagal na pag-uumpisa sa U.S. Open quarterfinal, dalawang ulit na nawala ang service at ilaglag ang unang tatlong games, maging si Serena Williams ay nahirapang maniwala.
''I was thinking: 'I'm down two breaks?,'' aniya. ''But I felt like, 'It's not the end of the world.''
Mabilis naman niyang naikot ang mga pangyayari at makuha ang kontrol, pinalawig ni Williams ang kanyang winning streak sa Flushing Meadows sa 19 patungo sa 6-3, 6-2 panalo kontra sa 11th-seeded na si Flavia Pennetta ng Italy kahapon.
''I don't feel like I was doing too much wrong,'' sinabi ni Williams, isang five-time champion at the U.S. Open, kasama na ang huling dalawang taon. ''So I said, 'If she keeps it up, she absolutely deserves the win.' And I just tried to do a little better.
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''Against her, you can't wait, you can't give her time, you can't fail to push her to her limits - because if you do, she's a runaway train,'' ani Pennetta.
Target ni Williams na maging unang babaeng manlalaro na manalo ng tatlong sunud-sunod na titulo sa U.S. Open mula nang makasungkit si Chris Evert ng apat na sunod nong 1975-78. Ang 32-anyos na American ay sinusubukan ding makapantay kina Evert at Martina Navratilova na mayroong 18 Grand Slam singles trophies.
Hindi pa nakakaabot si Williams sa isang major semifinal ngayong 2014, yumukod sa ikaapat na round sa Australian Open, ikalawang round ng French Open, at ikatlong round sa Wimbledon. Ang huling pagkakataon na hindi siya nakatuntong sa kahit isang Grand Slam title match sa loob ng isang season ay noong 2006.
''Well, honestly, I've had a tough year in the majors and I've (lost to) some great players that weren't in the top 10,'' saad ni Williams. ''So you can never underestimate anyone.''
Makakaharap bukas ni Williams ang 17th- seeded na si Ekaterina Makarova, na tinalo si 2012 at 2013 runner-up Victoria Azarenka, 6-4, 6-2. Ang isa pang women’s semifinal ay katatampukan nina No. 10 Caroline Wozniacki ng Denmark laban sa unseeded na si Peng Shuai ng China.
