American Venus Williams is the first woman through to the Australian Open tennis semi-finals, keeping alive the dream of an epic final showdown with her sister Serena.
The number 13 seed saw off Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6. She will face either surprise quarter-finalist Coco Vandeweghe or Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in the last four, who will play on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday afternoon (NZ time).
It’s a welcome return to top form for Venus, who hasn’t made the final of a Grand Slam since 2009 at Wimbledon, having won the same tournament the previous year.
The 36-year-old has been plagued with injuries ever since, but has found exceptional form in Melbourne. She’s yet to drop a set and will be hotly fancied to take her place in the final.
On the other side of the draw, Karoline Pliskova plays Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and the tie of the round is Serena up against Brit Johanna Konta.
Newshub.
