Serena Williams all aces, earns date with Kim Clijsters at U.S. Open semis

Author: admin

13 Sep

She plays with hoop earrings the size of tire rims, and the power of a tractor. Serena Williams didn’t just turn one more overmatched opponent into tennis road kill at Arthur Ashe Stadium Tuesday night.

She plowed into the U.S. Open semifinals with an aura of complete invincibility, as if she were daring anybody to try to take her down.

Williams, the No. 2 seed and the defending champion, is now two victories away from her third Grand Slam title of the year, and the 12th of her career. She reached the Final Four with a stunning display of high-octane tennis, punishing a game quarterfinal opponent, No. 10 Flavia Pennetta, 6-4, 6-3, doing it with a serve that clocked as high as 118 mph, running her 2009 Slam record to a ludicrous 23-1.

Next up for Williams – the only player in the whole tournament who hasn’t lost a set – is an intriguing matchup with the comebacking tennis mother, Kim Clijsters, the 2005 champion, who took out sister Venus in the fourth round, and did the same to Li Na of China earlier Tuesday.

Clijsters, 26, has beaten the 27-year-old Williams only once in their eight meetings, but she promises to bring a champion’s fight to the court.

“She’s always been able to step it up at the Grand Slams,” Clijsters said. “I mean, I’ve seen her play here and she has that face where she’s like, ‘Okay, I’m here to do business.’ But that doesn’t mean that you don’t get chances when you get to play her.” Next >>