NEW YORK _ When it was all done, when two hours and 14 minutes of glorious struggle was over, Serena Williams applauded Simona Halep as she picked up her gear and walked off Arthur Ashe Stadium Court for the last time in this U.S. Open.
Williams had just completed a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 quarterfinal victory on Wednesday night in which Halep tested every aspect of her game. Sure, Williams served 18 aces, as she usually does, but when her serve came back, Williams knew that Halep was thoroughly in the match.
Halep had been far more than a worthy opponent. She had been a downright pain in the very best sense. She has pressured Williams constantly and was the very equal in long rallies of scintillating groundstrokes that tightened the screws of emotion throughout the stadium with every hit.
Williams broke Halep to win the first set, then held serve in the first game of the second. Game 2 is where Halep made her stand. It was a monumental tussle, going to seven deuces after Halep was initially down 0-40. She saved all those break points and four others, running down every ball, firing winners and hitting enough jam serves to keep Williams off balance.
It was the impetus to her second-set win, propelled by breaking Williams in the third game. Haley then had to save four break points in the 10th game of the set to close it out. In all Halep saved 16 break points.
Williams knew she was in a dogfight and tried not to let frustration set in when she couldn't convert the breaks.
"I knew I could play a lot better," Williams said. "I lost my rhythm in the second set and Simona played really well. I wasn't very happy about [not converting the break points], I tried not to let it get me down."
Next up for Williams in the semifinals is Karolina Pliskova, who beat Ana Konjuh on Wednesday.
Pliskova eliminated Serena's sister Venus in a taut and tantalizing three-setter in the round of 16. Serena and Pliskova have met once, with Serena winning in two sets at Stanford in 2014.
"I was a completely different player at that time, so I improve a lot and obviously she probably did as well," Pliskova said. "She's a big hitter and she can have 50 winners and you cannot do much about it. But I still am going to hope that I can get my chance and be the one who is playing aggressive."
Pliskova has some recent bona fides that make it seem she could make a match out of it. She has two tournament wins this year, including her first top-tier event in Cincinnati two weeks before the Open. She beat Garbine Muguruza in the semis and Angelique Kerber in the final.
"The title from Cincinnati helped me a lot," Pliskova said. "I was waiting for the bigger title for a few years, let's say two, so that was the next step. I think just everything is on time. I was practicing hard this year, even if the results in the beginning of this year were not that good as last year. I'm happy that I could play my game in the biggest tournaments, which I didn't play last year."
