There’ll be no fairy tale comeback this year. Serena Williams has been bundled out of the Australian Open by Czech 7th seed Karolína Plíšková in a stunning 3-set quarter final encounter that saw Williams give up a 5-1 third set lead.
[jwplayer wBpc6NFP]
After dropping the first set 6-4, the 7-time Australian Open champion and inarguably greatest of all time took control of the game in the second, taking it out in reasonably comfortable fashion 6-4.
A berth in the semi final looked all-but assured after Serena stormed to a 5-1 lead over Plíšková in the third set, but with the game teetering on the brink of being all stitched up, disaster struck.
Serena’s left ankle gave out on her while attempting an abrupt change of direction, and it became the decisive factor that turned the match against her.
Serena’s ankle giving her a bit of trouble.
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FOLLOW LIVE: https://t.co/d5QpFbqFD5 #9WWOS #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/9y3y52YD1m— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) January 23, 2019
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Clearly hampered, Plíšková took full advantage, rattling off the next 5 games in succession to close the game out 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
🇨🇿MATCH🇨🇿
Karolina Pliskova has defeated Serena Williams to advance to the #AusOpen semi-finals!#GameSetMatch #9WWOS pic.twitter.com/CSsaAtW1SV
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) January 23, 2019
The loss means Serena will have to wait until at least the French Open and possibly Wimbledon to equal impossibly bad person Margaret Court‘s all-time Grand Slam singles title record of 24. For what it’s worth, Serena already holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era.
Plíšková will now face fourth-seed Japanese gun Naomi Osaka in her semi-final match up. The winner of that game will advance to the 2019 Australian Open final to face the winner of the other semi-final match featuring Czech eighth-seed Petra Kvitova and un-seeded American Danielle Collins.
