Venus Williams came back from 3-5 down in the third set by reeling off four consecutive games to battle past Great Britain’s Johanna Konta with 6-4 3-6 7-5. Venus booked her berth in the semifinals of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open where she will face Roberta Vinci who beat Venus’ younger sister Serena in the US Open semifinals putting an end to the US star’s dream to win all Grand Slam tournaments in the same year.
Konta, who won 21 of the previous 22 matches rallied from 1-5 in the final set to stun Simona Halep on Wednesday, served for the match at 5-3 in the third set but Venus won the next three games for 6-5. Williams served out for the match to win her fourth consecutive game after a thrilling final match where Konta saved a match point with a backhand volley.
Konta won two ITF titles and got through the qualifying rounds to reach the fourth round at the US Open. Konta came through the qualifying draw in Wuhan without losing a set before beating Andrea Petkovic 6-4 7-5. After advancing to the third round following the withdrawal of Vika Azarenka, the British player scored an upset win over Simona Halep with 6-3 3-6 7-5.
“Johanna played so well. She has had a wonderful summer. It seemed like I was finished but I felt the energy from the crowd”, said Williams
In the fourth quarter final Angelique Kerber was leading 6-1 3-1 as this year’s Wimbledon quarter finalist Coco Wandeweghe withdrew because of a left ankle injury. She received a medical time-out at 1-2 in the second set. Her two previous tough matches earlier this week took its toll on Wandeweghe. The US player saved two match points in the second round to beat Caroline Garcia 6-3 6-7 7-6 before booking her berth in the quarter final with a 3-6 6-2 7-6 win over Barbora Strykova.
Kerber converted on four of her five break point chances and produced 15 winners to just three unforced errors. Vandeweghe produced 14 winners but she made 20 unforced errors.
Kerber will face Garbine Muguruza in the semifinals. The German, who is ranked seventh in the Road to Singapore, is very close to securing her spot in the WTA Finals in Singapore. She won back-to-back titles in Charleston and Stuttgart during the spring season before lifting two more titles in Birmingham and Stanford. In the Asian Swing she reached the quarter final in Tokyo and the semifinal in Wuhan.
Diego Sampaolo
