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Australian Open: Serena Williams Fends off Shahar Peer to Advance to Semis
Serena Williams continued her remarkable comeback and advanced to the Australian Open semifinals after defeating 16th seed Shahar Peer 3-6, 6-2, 8-6.
It looked as if the unseeded Williams five match winning streak might be in jeopardy after Peer jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first set and went on to win 6-3. Williams fought back in the second set and took advantage of several Peer errors to turn a set tied 2-2 into a set won 6-2.
The third set appeared to be in the bag for Williams after holding a 3-1 lead but unforced errors allowed Peer right back in and the set was tied 4-4.Williams had to dig deep against her Israeli opponent the rest of the way. Five times Peer had an opportunity to break Williams and five times Williams held.
Serving at 6-7, Peer sent a backhand long and followed that with a backhand wide at match point and Serena was on to the semis.
Williams, the former world’s No. 1, will face 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova in the semis. For Serena to win her eighth Grand Slam title she must get past Vaidisova and then beat one of the four women who remain on the other side of the draw, Martina Hingis v. Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova v. Anna Chakvetadze will take place Tuesday evening.
