Czech ends hope of sisters' showdown

Karolina Pliskova spurs herself on during the match with Venus Williams at Flushing Meadows. Photo: Reuters
Karolina Pliskova spurs herself on during the match with Venus Williams at Flushing Meadows. Photo: Reuters

Karolina Pliskova has ruined any chance of another sister showdown as she claimed a dramatic 4-6 6-4 7-6(3) win over sixth-seeded Venus Williams to reach the US Open quarter-finals.

At 36 years old and the oldest remaining player in the draw, Venus battled until the bitter end as her 24-year-old Czech opponent needed five match points to finally put away the two-time champion on Monday (local time).

Venus Williams: batled to the bitter end. Photo: Reuters
Venus Williams: batled to the bitter end. Photo: Reuters

Since the draw was unveiled tennis fans had circled a potential semi-final between the sport's most famous siblings on American tennis's biggest stage where world No 1 Serena and Venus have met five times, including twice in the finals.

Serena, looking to continue her drive for a record seventh US Open title, beat Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova 6-2 6-3.

Earlier, fifth-seeded Simona Halep booked her place in the top eight, beating 11th-seeded Spanish rival Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2 7-5.

The 24-year-old Romanian was broken serving for the match at 5-4 but she broke right back, and after falling behind 0-30 in the 12th game swept the last four points in a row to end it on Monday.

Halep, who reached the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows last year, edged ahead in her rivalry with Suarez Navarro, now leading their head-to-head series 6-5.

"I'm really happy I could win this match. It's really tough to beat her. I just gave everything I had," Halep, who next faces Serena, said.

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