Serena Williams Defeats Tsvetana Pironkova To Reach US Open Semi-Finals

Serena Williams on Wednesday booked her seat in the semi-finals of the US Open 2020 after securing a win over Tsvetana Pironkova. This is the 14th time Williams has made it into the tournament's semi-finals. She would be facing Belarusian tennis player Victoria Azarenka in her next match, to secure her berth in the finals.

Serena Willaims defeated Pironkova in the US Open quarter-finals 4-6,6-3,6-2. The match that lasted two hours and 12 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium saw a sluggish start as Serena lost the first set 4-6.

Also Read: Five Times Serena Williams’ Daughter Awed Us With Her Skills

The six-time champion was elated after her win, "I am happy to just be here standing and talking with you. I was like one point from not being here. I just kept fighting and never gave up. You got to keep going."

Tsvetana Pironkova, who had her first child in 2018, had defied expectations with a quarter-final run in her first tournament in three years. In an Instagram post on March 11, Tsvetana Pironkova made her intention public about returning to professional tennis for the first time since 2017. She has become one of the three moms ever to reach the quarterfinals of the same Grand Slam, along with  Williams and Victoria Azarenka, thus creating history. As of now, only three women have ever won grand slams after becoming mothers in the 50 years of the Open Era – Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong and Kim Clijsters. The club could, however, get a new member, very soon.

Also Read: First Time In Grand Slam History Three Moms Serena, Victoria and Tsvetana Qualify For Quarterfinals

While speaking about the Bulgarian player, Serena said in her post-match on-court interview, "This just shows how tough moms are. You give birth to a child you can do just about anything."

On September 2, Serena Williams surpassed Chris Evert’s previous record for most singles wins in US Open history, male or female, when she won her 102nd US Open career match. She is very close to tying Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles.

Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka has also advanced into the semi-finals. She defeated Shelby Rogers by 6-3, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.

Image Credit: Vibe

Sanskriti Tiwari is an intern with SheThePeople.TV.