NEW YORK -- Before dissecting her 6-4, 6-3 quarterfinal win over No. 8 Karolina Pliskova on Tuesday night, let's pause for a moment to breathe in what Serena Williams has accomplished in the past five days in Flushing Meadows.
She handed her sister, Venus, the most lopsided loss of her season, survived a three-setter against a giant-killer who'd already unseated the No. 1 player in the world, and overcame early-match jitters to beat a top-10 opponent for the first time since returning from maternity leave to secure a spot in the US Open semifinals for the 12th time in her career.