US Open 2015 Updates: Serena Williams Two Wins Away from Making History
Serena Williams is just two wins away from becoming the first female player to complete a calendar Grand Slam - winning all four Majors - since Steffi Graf did it in 1988. During that year, Graf completed the Golden Slam by also winning an Olympic gold medal.
Before Williams can even fight to join the likes of Graf and Margaret Court, the 33-year-old champion must beat her semifinal opponent Roberta Vinci from Italy.
"Serena is Serena," Vinci said Tuesday. "You have to play better, then better, then better."
Here is more information on the women's semifinal matches:
Date: Thursday, Sept. 10
Start Time: Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET.
Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Player Match-ups: Serena William (1) vs. Roberta Vinci, Simona Halep (2) vs. Flavia Pennetta (26)
Williams is the heavy favorite to win her semifinal match. Williams, who is 4-0 against Vinci, beat the Italian 6-4, 6-3, in Toronto last month. Despite her success against Vinci, Williams stated that she will not underestimate her.
"She played me really tough, and I didn't really expect that," Williams said in regards to the August match. "I'm not going to underestimate her...She's not in the semifinals of a Grand Slam for no reason. She knows what to do and she knows what to play."
Williams' biggest threat would be Halep, who is having a great hard court season. Halep, however, just played a tough three set match against Victoria Azarenka (6-3, 4-6, 6-4) and if she goes through another three-setter against Pennetta, she could be physically worn out for the finals. Williams also has a 6-1 record against the Romanian.
William's record against Pennetta is 7-0.
If Williams wins the US Open, she will not only complete the Calendar Grand Slam, she would also tie Graf for second-most singles grand slam titles with 22. Court holds the record with her 24 titles.
The win would also be Williams' fifth straight major title and her seventh US Open title.
