Six-time US Open champion Serena Williams eased into the semifinals of the ongoing US Open with a straight-set victory over No 18 seed Qiang Wang of China at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
On Tuesday night, the 23-time Grand Slam champion exhibited a stunning display of form as she outplayed Wang 6-1, 6-0 in just 44 minutes to register her 100th win at the Flushing Meadows.
“It never crossed my mind that I would get to 100,” Williams said after the match.
“It feels like, okay, this is what I’ve been training for. This is how hard I’ve been working. It feels like, you know, hard work pays off when that happens,” she added.
The American was in devastating form from start to finish, hitting 25 winners to just ten unforced errors, and she never faced a break point, having won 19 of 21 points on her first serve (90 percent).
“I’m okay to play a lot of matches in a row; I’m okay to play 44-minute matches,” said Williams. “I think at this stage in my career I have so much experience of playing super-long matches and super-short matches, I’m pretty much ready for everything.”
Williams will now face No 5 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on Thursday to remain on course of her 24th Grand Slam. Williams leads their head-to-head 4-1, but Svitolina did emerge victorious in their last meeting, which was a shock upset at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro while Williams was World No 1.