Pliskova slays Serena to set up Osaka semi-final

Serena Williams battled back from a set down and was leading 5-1 in the third and serving for the match, only to throw it away with some poor serving and wild shots

Serena Williams's bid to equal Margaret Court's record 24 Grand Slam titles was brought to a halt in sensational style Wednesday by Karolina Pliskova, who will face Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open semi-finals.

The American great had beaten world number one Simona Halep in the fourth round but folded against the big-serving Czech seventh seed, who saved four match points before winning 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 under the hot Melbourne sun.
It was a gut-wrenching defeat for the 37-year-old, who battled back from a set down and was leading 5-1 in the third and serving for the match, only to throw it away with some wild shots as frustrations bubbled to the surface.

"There's nothing I did wrong on those match points. I stayed aggressive. She just literally hit the lines on some of them," said a dumbfounded Williams.

It was Naomi Osaka's second straight Grand Slam semi-final after Flushing Meadows and she is the first Japanese woman in the final four at Melbourne Park since Kimoko Date in 1994

Since returning last year from giving birth, Williams has made four unsuccessful attempts to match Court's record, and the wait continues with the French Open in May her next chance.

"The big picture for me is always winning," she added. "I'm not going to sit here and lie about that. But it hasn't happened yet, but I feel like it's going to happen."

For Pliskova, it is only her third semi-final at a major.

She made the last four at Roland Garros in 2017 and the US Open a year earlier, where she beat Williams before losing the final to Angelique Kerber.

"I was almost in the locker-room but now I am standing here as a winner. It is a very good feeling," she said after depriving Williams of a US Open final rematch with Osaka.

"She did get a little bit shaky in the end, I took my chances and I won."

Karolina Pliskova who saved four match points before winning 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 under the hot Melbourne sun against Serena Williams

Asked about facing Osaka next, Pliskova replied: "She's dangerous but nobody is more dangerous than Serena.".