Serena battles into 11th semis

LONDON: Serena Williams survived a major scare before sealing her 11th Wimbledon semi-final appearance, while Angelique Kerber remains the seven-time champion’s main title rival after the German joined her in the last four Tuesday.
Williams was in danger of a stunning quarter-final exit after world number 52 Camila Giorgi became the first player in this year’s tournament to take a set off the former world number one.
But Serena bludgeoned her way out of trouble, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to stay on course for an eighth All England Club triumph.
It was Serena’s 100th career main draw victory on grass. The 36-year-old will play German 13th seed Julia Goerges on Thursday for a place in Saturday’s final. “I knew after the first set, ‘all right, let’s go three sets’. I’ll just keep fighting,” Williams said.
“I still have a long way to go to be where I was.” Serena is the first woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final without facing a top 40 ranked opponent since 2013. Williams is into the 35th Grand Slam semi-final of her career and her first since winning last year’s Australian Open.
Williams, a 23-time major winner, is hoping to join a select group of women who have won Grand Slams after becoming mothers. (AFP)