- Pliskova beats Williams 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
- Naomi Osaka beats Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-1
Serena Williams, her movement cramped late in the match by a rolled ankle, blew a third-set 5-1 lead, four match points, a rematch with Naomi Osaka and a chance to equal the 24 slam titles of Margaret Court in a dramatic quarter-final on Wednesday.
Karolina Pliskova remained calm as Williams disintegrated physically after her left ankle collapsed under her during a foot-fault when in sight of victory, and went on to win 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. On Thursday, she plays Osaka – Williams’s conqueror in the US Open final – after the exciting young Japanese player had accounted for the Ukrainian sixth seed Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-1 in just an hour and 12 minutes in the opening match on Rod Laver Arena.
Written by Kevin Mitchell in Melbourne
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jan/23/australian-open-serena-williams-loses-to-karolina-pliskova under the title “Australian Open: Serena Williams loses to Karolina Pliskova in thriller”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
