By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Serena Williams withstood a fierce fight from Alison Riske, ripping her 19th ace to seal a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 triumph to reach her 12th Wimbledon semifinal.
Photo credit: Getty
Sprinting behind the baseline, Serena Williams crashed to the court as Alison Riske cracked the ball into the open court and a hushed silence enveloped Centre Court late in the final set.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion was knocked down, broken five times and battled to the very brink by the gutsy Riske.
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Scraping herself off the turf, Williams relied on her defiance, seismic serve and sheer will to win subduing Riske, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, in a ferocious fight to advance to her 12th Wimbledon semifinal.
"I just needed to just fight," Williams said. "Alison, I mean, she played great throughout the whole tournament. She's beaten so many amazing players, players that have had great years. She was not giving it to me. I needed to step up and take it. That's what I had to do."
The 23-time Grand Slam champion now stands two victories away from matching Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 major championships. Williams will face Czech veteran Barbora Strycova, who fought back from 1-4 down defeating British No. 1 Johanna Konta, 7-6 (5), 6-1, to charge into her first Grand Slam semifinal in her 53rd major appearance.
A fine all-court player, the 33-year-old Strycova, who blasted Williams' behavior in her 2018 US Open final loss as the "biggest bulls--t", said she's eager to face the seven-time champion.
"It’s a great week to play her," Strycova said. "It’s a match I will really look forward to playing."
The 37-year-old Williams whipped 19 aces, including slamming an ace down the T turning match point into an emphatic exclamation point.
Furiously pumping her fists in an explosion of emotion and visible release of relief, Williams revealed this match may have been a lost cause last month.
“It's really satisfying; I wouldn’t have won that match a couple of weeks ago,” Williams told the BBC afterward. “I’m glad I was able to come through. She honestly was playing so great. She beat so many great players And Oh my God she was really so close to taking the win today.”
Indeed, the 55th-ranked American who stunned world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty yesterday, snapping the Roland Garros champion’s 15-match winning streak, showed absolutely no fear of Williams or the moment today.
Instead, Riske, who will wed in her hometown of Pittsburgh in 11 days, converted all five of her break-point chances and frequently wrong-footed the 2018 finalist with flat strikes down the line.
Muhammad Ali, Serena’s sporting hero, famously said “there’s nothing wrong with getting knocked down as long as you get right back up again.”
Rising from the turf with even more intensity, Williams nearly doubled Riske’s winner output—49 to 25—and smacked eight of her 19 aces in the final set fighting back from a break down in the decider for a gritty two-hour triumph.
"I believe in myself," said Williams, who has been hampered by ankle and knee injuries for much of the season. "I believe if I'm feeling well, I can be a big competitor in a sport that I love and I've done so well at.
"So just the key word is getting fit and getting back into match play injury-free. So now that I am, I can kind of actually start to, like I say, just play tennis. That has been literally something that I have not been able to do all year."
This first meeting between one-time U.S. Fed Cup doubles partners popped with riveting rallies and electric intensity.
Credit Riske for fighting Williams every step of the way and scoring the first break in the third game.
The Riske two-handed backhand—particularly her buzzing backhand down the line—may be her best weapon. Riske raked a diagonal backhand return that froze Williams breaking again for 4-3.
Resetting, Williams immediately earned triple break point then forced a Riske error breaking back to level after eight games.
The seven-time champion slashed successive aces—her fifth and six of the set—stamping a love hold for 5-4.
Williams informed former No. 1 Andy Murray she had only one rule for their mixed doubles partnership: She plays the forehand side. The 2018 runner-up was ripping forehands with menacing intent earning double set point in the 10th game.
Belting a looping backhand pass down the line, Williams rattled out a high volley error from Riske, who looked unsure of whether to play the ball.
Despite being down a break twice, Williams reeled off 12 of the last 16 points sealing the 37-minute opener with a clenched fist toward husband Alexis Ohanian, who stood and pumped his fist toward his streaking wife.
Neither woman could gain much separation through the first six games of the second set.
The depth of Riske’s drives—and her willingness to redirect Williams’ blasts down the line—helped the underdog drag the former champ to deuce in the seventh game.
Grunts from both women intensified as Williams dropped to one knee and hammered a deep backhand, eventually holding for 4-3 when a Riske shot narrowly missed the baseline.
After that hard-fought hold, Williams exchanged a quick word with chair umpire Marija Čičak, requesting a visit from the trainer.
A resolute Riske kept taking the battle to the 11th seed. A lunging Williams blocked back a full-stretch volley, but Riske lined a forehand pass for break point.
Stretching Williams with another flat return, Riske stepped up and scalded another drive, followed it forward and scooped up a slick half-volley winner converting her third break point in as many chances for a 5-4 second-set lead.
The trainer came out to re-tape Williams’ right ankle before Riske stepped up to serve for the set.
Asked about the state of her ankle, which she also rolled in her Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Karolina Pliskova in January, Williams replied: "Uhm, yeah, it's okay I think."
"I'm going to see," Williams said. "I roll my ankle a lot, so... It wasn't a bad one. It was just like a slight tweak so it should be fine."
Showing no trace of nerve, Riske opened with her signature shot, the backhand down the line, rolling through a love hold to snatch the second set, prompting fiancé Stephen Amritraj to burst from his seat with a clenched fist.
Empowered, Riske was straddling the baseline when she walloped a second-serve return for double break point to start the decider.
Ripping another return down the line, Riske elicited a groan from a lunging Williams as she streaked forward to snap off a swing volley scoring her fourth break of the day.
Though Williams again opted against challenging a call against her that Hawk-Eye showed was good, she hooked a forehand return down the line breaking back in the second game. Williams whipped her 15th ace to back up the break.
The pressure of Williams’ predatory return posture was compounded by Riske losing the range on her serve. She spit up a couple of double faults, including her fourth double fault on break point, gifting the break and a 3-1 lead.
Resilience is a Riske asset and she showed it stretching a sprinting Williams in the corner then stepping in to take the ball on the rise and smacking a backhand crosscourt. Riske converted her fifth break in as many chances to get back on serve.
Both the sun and a slight breeze emerged with this duel deadlocked after six games of the decider. Williams slammed her 17th ace holding strong for 4-3.
A defiant Riske saved break points Williams looped a high drop shot, Riske got to it but the veteran read the reply, covered the line and blocked a volley for a fourth break point.
Five of Riske's six double faults came in the final set. Her sixth double of the day gave Williams the crucial break.
This time there was no stopping Serena as she slashed her 19th ace to close a fierce fight in style.
"I think (experience) really counted today," Williams said. "I just had to just button up today and play hard. She was playing her heart out. She had nothing to lose. And I realized I didn’t either. And I just need to do better."