[ad_1]
Serena Williams Came from a set to beat up his fellow mother Tsvetana Pironkova and reach the semifinals of the US Open on Wednesday.
The US third seed defeated the unseeded Bulgarian 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in 2 hours and 12 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Williams will play former world number one Victoria Azarenka or 16th Belgian seed Elise Mertens on Thursday for a place in Saturday’s final.
Williams, 38, is seeking a 24th Grand Slam singles title that would equal Margaret Court’s record.
But a slow start to the match almost had her hopes dashed when a more spirited Pironkova broke Williams in game five to take an early lead.
“I’m happy to be here talking to you because at one point I think I was very close to not being here,” Williams told an interviewer on the court.
“I keep fighting and that is something that excites me a lot. I never give up and you know I have to keep going,” he added.
Williams blamed his early problems on fatigue.
“I was feeling a bit on my legs and for whatever reason I have more energy in an hour so I think that’s a good thing,” Williams said.
“At first I was a bit fatigued for some reason, so obviously I can’t do that if I want to keep winning.
“So I’m going to try to figure that out,” he added.
It has been more than three years since Williams won her 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, when she was already pregnant with her daughter Olympia.
Williams has been close ever since, reaching four major finishes only to come out empty-handed.
Pironkova, herself a mother, only returned to tennis this year after a three-year absence from the circuit.
“As long as you can give birth to a baby, you can honestly do anything and I think we saw him today with Tsvetana. He played amazing,” Williams said.
Pironkova’s last tournament appearance before this year’s US Open was at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships when she came out in the second round.
She gave birth to her son during her break from tennis, but chose to return in 2020, only to see her comeback plans interrupted by the coronavirus shutdown.
Williams said she was in awe of Pironkova’s run to the last eight.
“I couldn’t even do that. I could barely win a match when I came back, so she’s amazing.
“It’s like you play a game and you go home and keep changing diapers. It’s like a double life, it’s really surreal,” he added.
Williams broke 20 aces, bringing his tournament tally to 64 thus far.
The record for most aces at a US Open in women’s singles is 70, set by Serena in 1999 when she first won.
