Serena Williams, in pursuit of her 24th Grand Slam title, is through to the semifinals at Wimbledon after coming back to beat Camila Giorgi 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in the quarterfinal round. Williams is now 8-1 in the Grand Slam matches since her return from giving birth to her daughter -- with her only blemish coming via retirement prior to a match against Maria Sharapova at the French Open.
Williams' scare in the first set against Giorgi was short-lived. Giorgi played a very good match, but Williams' dominant serve proved to be the difference. She won on 81 percent of her first serves and 75 percent of her second. Giorgi finished with one break point on the match, while Williams finished with two, which was all she needed. She is now just one match away from challenging Margaret Court's record 24 Grand Slams.
“Once again, Serena reigns supreme on Centre Court!”@serenawilliams marches on...#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/meRl9qB0l7
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2018
That match will come against Julia Gorges, who also came back from a set down to defeat Kiki Bertens 3-6, 5-7, 6-1. It's Gorges' first career appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal.
A brilliant comeback victory...
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2018
Serena Williams awaits @juliagoerges in the #Wimbledon semi-finals pic.twitter.com/alLqfq6p9u
On the other side of the bracket, No. 11 Angelique Kerber and No. 12 Jelena Ostapenko are all set for a semifinal matchup after straight-set victories on Tuesday. Ostapenko defeated the impressive Dominika Cibulkova, while Kerber beat a stubborn 14-seeded Daria Kasatkina to advance.
Kerber and Kasatkina turned in what may well have been the best match of the tournament, and it all boiled down to the last game. Kerber found herself on match point six times before she finally broke through. On one particularly crazy 40-all volley, the two volleyed 25 times before Kerber got it to match point -- which Kasatkina quickly reset to 40-all. Although Kerber eventually won 6-3, 7-5, it was a gutty performance from Kasatkina, who exited in the quarterfinal round for the second straight major. At just 21, however, she's showing herself to be a real threat.
Game recognises game 👏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/xJTtcWXJ6S
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2018
Ostapenko won 7-5, 6-4 over Cibulkova. Although it wasn't her cleanest match -- Ostapenko finished with 28 errors to Cibulkova's 13 -- she was simply overpowering. The 2017 French Open winner had 33 winners against just six for Cibulkova, and finished with five break points. Cibulkova finished with just a 27 percent win percentage on her second serve, which ultimately put a ton of pressure on her first. Ostapenko's powerful returns kept momentum on her side for most of the match.
Into the semi-finals without dropping a set…
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2018
Is a second Grand Slam title on the horizon for @JelenaOstapenk8?⁰⁰#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/UJ0nCMd6do
Kerber and Ostapenko will face off on Thursday in the semifinals.