NEW YORK _ It was tiebreak heartbreak for Serena Williams at the U.S. Open Thursday night.
Trying to reach her fourth Grand Slam final of the season, trying to win a record-breaking 23rd Slam, Williams instead was ousted from the Open in the semifinals by Karolina Pliskova, 6-2, 7-6 (5), a result that left the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd stunned.
It had helped that Pliskova had beaten sister Venus earlier in the fourth round, a confidence boost.
"So I knew it's gonna be a little bit about the same match what I played with Venus and same serving, same speed," Pliskova said. "Serena is No. 1. Venus is a little bit behind her. I was expecting tough match but I knew I can win."
Pliskova, the 10th seed, had never before made it even as far as the fourth round in a Grand Slam, and now will be playing for a title that would have been Williams' seventh had she won it all. Pliskova's clean, rapier-like groundstrokes and well-placed serves kept Williams on a string all night. Williams, used to dictating points, was instead taking dictation as Pliskova pulled her around the court, and kept Williams' return game at a minimum.
Pliskova had an easy time in the first set, as if the real Serena had yet to take the court. In her three-set win over Simona Halep in the quarterfinals, Williams said that the real Serena was starting to emerge after a season of reasonable success tempered by the fact she had won only one of the Slam finals (Wimbledon) she had achieved.
She passionately denied that fatigue from the Halep match had anything to do with the loss and admitted that she was having problems with her left knee stemming from an injury earlier in the tournament.
"I have been having some serious left knee problems. I wasn't tired," Williams said. "Fatigue had absolutely nothing to do with it. If I was tired I should definitely get into a new career."
Williams failed to give herself a break point on Pliskova's serve in the first set and only got to deuce once. Her own serve, the foundation on which her legendary game was built, just wasn't there. Pliskova out-aced Williams for the match, 7-5.
Williams was broken in the fifth game of the second set. In the sixth she finally earned her first break points, though it wasn't much of her own doing. Pliskova double faulted and committed three errors, giving Williams the break and a toehold, and evening the score at 3-3. The pair held serve to force the tiebreak.
Pliskova won the first three points, then Williams won the next four. The crowd, Williams' home crowd, was fully behind her. But up 5-4, Williams made a forehand error, made a backhand error and on match point a double fault, sending her home and sending Pliskova into the final.
Williams, who was beaten in the semifinals last year by soft-serving Roberta Vinci, warmly congratulated Pliskova at the net, and praised her victory afterward.
"Karolina played great today," Williams said. "I think if she had played any less then maybe I would have had a chance. ... She deserved to win today."
And Pliskova is finally realizing her dreams.
"It was always a dream to get a title, get to the semifinal, get to the final. I hope I didn't stop yet, that there is still one more step to go. I'll do anything for getting the title."
