Serena Williams is a match away from returning to the mountaintop of women’s tennis after a confident and complete 6-3 6-0 victory under the lights against Anastasija Sevastova in the US Open semifinals. Serena was confident with her serve and dominated the net play in the contest as Sevastova faded late, lacking belief after falling behind a set. Sevastova went up early and it looked like it was going to be a match, but Serena won 12 of the final 13 games to close out the victory.

The result puts Serena in her first US Open final since 2014. She missed the 2017 tournament due to maternity; in 2016 she lost in straight sets to Karolina Pliskova with a poor serving performance in the semifinals, and in 2015 she was stunned by veteran Italian Roberta Vinci in a three setter where Serena won the first set only to see Vinci fight back and play the match of her life to grab the upset. That was also a semifinal contest.

Overall, Serena has won six US Opens (the last in 2014) and is aiming for title #7 in New York, her home Slam. She’s currently 6-2 in US Open finals and will face either fellow American Madison Keys or Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the final. Williams is contesting her second Slam final of the year, as she also made the Wimbledon final, losing to Angelique Kerber. Presuming her net play remains strong to match her serve and baseline power, Serena will be the favorite in the final by some margin despite the big hitting potential of either final opponent.

In her first Slam back from pregnancy she had to withdraw before her 4th round match at the French Open after winning three matches in straight sets. Serena is currently 19-5 on the season, one of the best records on the WTA Tour despite playing a relatively light schedule coming back from pregnancy. There is also a significant chance that Serena could win 2 or more Majors in 2019 and continue to smash records–if her play at the US Open is any indication, it’s going to be very hard to stop her.

A US Open title would also give Serena 24 Major titles, tying her with Margaret Court for the most all-time singles Major titles.

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