Serena Williams blew a 5-1 final set lead against seventh seed Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Wednesday, squandering four match points as she was beaten 6-4 4-6 7-5.
Pliskova stunned a packed Rod Laver Arena with a fightback for the ages as she rallied from the brink of defeat to deny Williams the chance to keep alive her hopes of winning a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.
The moment you realise you've beaten a 7-time #AOChampion & reached your first #AusOpen SF.
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2019
? @KaPliskova pic.twitter.com/d9j8hWGee8
Williams rolled her ankle when serving for the match at 5-1, but denied that the injury had thrown her off her stride.
"It was nothing to do with my ankle," the 16th seed said. "Obviously I made some mistakes but she played really well. She was hitting the lines and went crazy. She played unbelievable on match points."
Next up for Pliskova is a semi-final meeting with Japan's Naomi Osaka on Thursday, while her fellow Czech Petra Kvitova faces unseeded American Danielle Collins in the other semi-final.
Our #AusOpen women's semifinals are set!
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2019
Who's your pick? ? pic.twitter.com/MEdRnPvi2d
Pliskova, Kvitova and Osaka are locked in a three-way battle to wrest the world number one spot from Simona Halep, and Pliskova will emerge as the top-ranked woman in the world if she wins her first career grand slam title in Melbourne.
In the men's draw, six-times champion Novak Djokovic reached the last four for the seventh time in his career after his quarter-final opponent, Japanese dynamo Kei Nishikori, retired with an injury while trailing 6-1 4-1.
Our #AusOpen men's semifinals are set!
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2019
Who's your pick? ? pic.twitter.com/yUngwi0tTT
Djokovic, who has gone on to win the title each time he has reached the semi-finals in the past, faces Frenchman Lucas Pouille on Friday.
Second seed Rafa Nadal and Greek youngster Stefanos Tsitsipas meet in the other men's semi-final on Thursday.
NISHIKORI RETIRES FROM SEMI-FINAL
Novak Djokovic reached the semi-finals after Kei Nishikori retired injured while trailing 6-1 4-1.
If Australian citizenship was based on the Aussie accent, we're not sure world No.1 @DjokerNole would pass ??#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/nWrPE97XRk
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2019
Japan's Nishikori, who has spent close to 14 hours on court before the match, called for the trainer and received treatment for a right thigh problem after the first set before he was forced to retire.
POUILLE REACHES MAIDEN SLAM SEMI-FINAL
Lucas Pouille defeated big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic 7-6(4) 6-3 6-7(2) 6-4 in a little over three hours to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
The dream goes on!!!! #SemiFinals #LockedIn ?? again for your support, it means a lot to me!! ? ? ??????? @AustralianOpen (? @antoinecouvercelle ) pic.twitter.com/OicsrfboN9
— Lucas Pouille (@la_pouille) January 23, 2019
Pouille trailed 2-5 but came back to clinch the first set in the tiebreak, before racing through the next. Raonic claimed the third set to give himself hope, but Frenchman Pouille switched gears in the next to seal the win on his third match point.
PLISKOVA ENDS WILLIAMS' RUN
Former world number one Karolina Pliskova overcame Serena Williams 6-4 4-6 7-5 to storm into the semi-finals where she takes on U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka.
The Czech looked strong in the first set but dropped the next as Williams got into her groove. Williams raced to a 5-1 lead in the decider but appeared to sustain an ankle injury, allowing Pliskova to fight back and prevail in two hours and 10 minutes.
Six straight!@KaPliskova rallies from 1-5 down in the third set to defeat Serena Williams, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
— WTA (@WTA) January 23, 2019
She will face Naomi Osaka in the @AustralianOpen semifinals! pic.twitter.com/sU4UfSdqyQ
Defeat ended Williams' quest to claim a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam crown.
OSAKA PLEASED WITH PERFORMANCE AGAINST SVITOLINA
Naomi Osaka said keeping her temper in check had helped her seal a comfortable 6-4 6-1 win over sixth seed Elina Svitolina to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
Why you won't often see @Naomi_Osaka_ throwing rackets...
— WTA (@WTA) January 23, 2019
The @AustralianOpen semifinalist talks about why she likes to stay calm on court!#AusOpen#大坂なおみ pic.twitter.com/MAbjA68Yfc
"For me, today, I had one goal - it was to try as hard as I can and not get angry. I didn't do that well in the past two rounds, but I played well today," the Japanese said.
"I tried to be consistent, or as consistent as I can be. She is really good but unfortunately she was injured. But playing against her injured was really tough."
