Serena Williams battles past Alison Riske to qualify for Wimbledon semi-final

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Serena Williams needed three sets to get past Alison Riske in her bid for an eighth Wimbledon final.

World number 55 Riske had already knocked out world number one Ashleigh Barty and took her countrywoman all the way before falling 6-4 4-6 6-3.

Riske started brilliantly and established a 3-1 lead in the opening set but Williams struck back to lead 5-4. With Riske serving to stay in the set, Williams took a 15-40 lead and broke with her second break point.

The second set went to serve until the end when Riske took a 5-4 lead before serving to love to level the score.

Four breaks in the first five games of the decider saw the pair locked in a tight battle until the last. It was Williams who eventually prevailed though. She needed four break points to take a 5-3 lead before she served out the match.

Williams will play British number one Johanna Konta or Czech Republic’s Barbora Strycova in the semi-final on Thursday.

Cover Photo: Tatiana from Moscow, Russia [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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