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Patna : Third seed Serena Williams, 38, USA, beat unseeded Tsvetana Pironkova, 32,  Bulgaria, in a three-set battle in women’s singles quarter-finals of US Open (tennis) at Newyork City, Newyork, USA, on September 9, 2020, late night, to set up a semi-finals showdown with two-time former Australian Open Champion Voctoria Azarenka, 31, Belarus, on September 11, 2020. Fourth seed Naomi Osaka, Japan, will face 20th seed Jennifer Brady, USA, in the other semi-finals the same day.

Serena, the winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles, beat Pironkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on September 9, 2020, late night, rallying back from one set down. Serena, a six-time US Open Champion, hammered 20 Aces in the match 4 by Pironkova. She won 4 break points in the match to 2 by Pironkova. The American, who will turn 39 later this month, won 5 games in a row in the match to 3 by Pironkova, who had reached Wimbledon SFs in 2010 and French Open QFs in 2016. Serena’s winning percentage both on her first and second serve was higher than that of Pironkova’s. But, the Bulgarian gave Serena a run for her money in the match.

Azarenka, who had won Australian Open singles titles in 2012 and 2013, crushed 16th seed Elise Mertens, 24, Belgium, 6-1, 6-0 in QFs on September 10, 2020. The Belarusian won 6 break points in the match to just 1 by Mertens, who had also reached US reached US Open QFs in 2019. Azarenka, who had reached US Open Final in 2012 and 2013, won 10 games in a row in the match completely dominating the proceedings. Her winning percentage both on her first and second serve was much higher than that of Mertens’, an Australian Open semi-finalist in 2018. Mertens committed 5 double faults to 2 by Azarenka.