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NEW YORK --  Serena Williams  was a bit shaky at the start of her US Open semifinal. For all of six minutes. That's how long it took her to drop the opening two games Thursday night. Williams spent the next hour playing flawlessly, particularly up at the net, grabbing 12 of 13 games to beat No. 19 seed  Anastasija Sevastova  of Latvia 6-3, 6-0 and reach her ninth final at Flushing Meadows and 31st at all Grand Slam tournaments. "I've been working hard on my volleys. I have won a few doubles championships, so I know how to volley," Williams said with a laugh, before adding this punch line: "I just usually come in only to shake hands." With one more victory, Williams will earn her seventh US Open championship and her 24th major singles trophy, equaling Margaret Court for the most in tennis history. Williams already owns the mark for the most in the half-century professional era; Court won some of hers against amateur competition. On Saturday, W

"The only truth is that you have to do things better to be able to fight for the point and fight for the match," says Nadal Rafael Nadal admits he "suffered" after playing his longest-ever match at the US Open against Dominic Thiem on Tuesday night. The world No 1 recovered from a first-set bagel to defeat Thiem and reach the US Open semi-finals following another late-night classic in New York. Twenty-four hours after Roger Federer fell to John Millman, his old rival avoided following him out of the tournament, but only just,  completing a 0-6 6-4 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) victory  in a gripping four hours and 49 minutes, concluding at 2.03am. Ninth seed Thiem became the first player since Andy Roddick in 2004 to win a love set against Nadal in New York but the defending champion once again dug deep to come out on top of a grueling battle played in more punishing humidity. Thiem, the only man to beat Nadal on clay for the last two seasons, blaste

Serena Williams finishes Karolina Pliskova with an ace in the second set to complete a straight-sets victory in the quarterfinals of the 2018 US Open. Williams served up 13 aces on the evening, 48% of which went unreturned. She’ll face Anastasija Sevastova in the semifinals.

NEW YORK -- Rafael Nadal is back in the US Open quarterfinals, and he won't face a rematch of the 2017 final. Instead, it's a rematch of this year's French Open final. Nadal beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4 on Sunday at Flushing Meadows. Next up is No. 9 seed, Dominic Thiem. Thiem beat Kevin Anderson 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2), denying the fifth-seeded South African a second shot at Nadal. Nadal beat Anderson last year for his third US Open title. Nadal and Thiem will be joined in the quarterfinals by John Isner, who used a booming serve to beat Milos Raonic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Isner seeded 11th, also defeated Raonic at Wimbledon on the way to a semifinals appearance, his best finish in a Grand Slam. Isner is known for his marathon matches and played another long one in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Isner had the crowd behind him on every point, and the 6-foot-11 American pumped his fist on every winner. "The crowd just kept me in it,'' Isn