Venus Williams beats Petra Kvitova to seal semi-final berth

Del Potro, who saved two match points to defeat sixth seed Dominic Thiem in a fourth-round thriller on Monday, has been plagued by injury ever since his moment in the NY spotlight eight years ago.

“Tiebreakers, you have to play smart, but you have to be aggressive”, Williams said afterward. “It definitely feels good that I have reached some milestone that I haven’t before”. “I hope there are four Americans in the semi-finals”. “Thank you so much for the support”.

Venus Williams booked her place in the US Open quarter-finals with a three-set victory over Carla Suarez Navarro.

She will face unseeded Sloane Stephens on Thursday in the first all-American women’s semifinal in NY since 2002.

Stephens became the first unseeded U.S. woman to reach the final four at Flushing Meadows since Venus Williams in 1997.

A explosive match continued an American comeback theme.

Oh, and it’s all going down at a stadium named for an African-American tennis player, Arthur Ashe. Their WTA head to head was 1-4, in favor of Kvitova, prior to Tuesday’s blockbuster quarterfinal match.

“I just asked my PR manager if I do have a chance for Zhuhai”, she said on Tuesday night.

But more impressive to me is how she has been able to deal with various challenges in her life such as Sjogrens Syndrome, which she was diagnosed with in 2011, an auto-immune disease which causes joint pain and fatigue. She played very well in the tie-break. She’s a great leader. “Before I started winning a lot of matches, I was really anxious”, Stephens said.

“I’m not sure about (winning) titles of the grand slam”. No matter: the power game and steely determination of the Czech saw her producing her best tennis since her return.

The 37-year-old ninth seed, who has already played two grand slam finals this season, blossomed under pressure in a nail-biting third set to remain on course for her first major title since she won Wimbledon in 2008. She had a very makeable return on a second serve, but sent it sailing long. She has come back with a vengeance and more of an appreciation for the game. Day by day, the stars have dimmed at the US Open.

And once Williams got the bit between her teeth, she became an irresistible force. She broke in the second game of the second set with a big backhand victor down the line and then saved two break points in holding serve for a 3-0 lead.

Rallies were brief as each woman was intent on taking the first strike.

Whether it was the roof-related delay or not, just when it seemed that Williams had put the pieces together to overtake Kvitova, the two time Wimbledon champion jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second set.

A thick blanket of humidity left both ladies dripping sweat. Muguruza was limited to seven winners compared with Kvitova’s 24.

Thickening clouds gave birth to a spitting shower.

In her entirely different circumstances, Williams will walk out as a marvel.

It will be an all-American affair in the semis as 37-year-old Williams and Sloane Stephens do battle. And for the sixth time in their six encounters it went the full three-set distance.

And she carried her fierce momentum into the third set to break in the third game.

Kvitova couldn’t sustain it.

The Czech then roared back-literally at times, as her passion found its outlet in screams of determination. Kvitova cranked out consecutive aces to level, 4-all. Kvitova did not waver, serving to love, and yet again, their contest would be decided by a tie-breaker. Another bold forehand strike down the line coaxed an error for 5-1. “I knew if I just stick with it and stayed in every point I’d have my opportunity and I did”.

For Venus Williams, the fire still burns.

“.I won’t be able to compete in (next month’s) events in Beijing and Shanghai, and most likely, the final two events (of) the season in Vienna and Paris due to my hip injury which has been bothering me the last few months”, he wrote on Facebook.