bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Venus Williams rolled back the years to send world number one Angelique Kerber crashing out of the Miami Open on Wednesday and advance to a semi-final showdown with Britain’s Johanna Konta.
Williams, at 36 the oldest woman in the field, downed Kerber in straight sets, winning 7-5, 6-3 while Konta fought back to beat Romania’s Simon Halep 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2.
Both results had the element of surprise about them with Kerber the top seed and Halep the third and in good form, but they set up what should be a fascinating contest on Thursday.
The other semi-final pits Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki against second-seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.
With the local crowd behind her, Williams, a three-time winner at Miami clearly believed she could topple the German but the first set saw both players struggle to hold their serves.
The American broke Kerber four times while Williams failed to hold serve twice, but the contest was more one-sided in the second set.
Venus Williams ‘peaking in terms of love level’ with tennis as she brushes aside retirement questions
Williams raced to a 4-1 lead before Kerber broke back and started to produce some great shots as she battled in vain to save the match.
The victory over Halep means Konta becomes the first British woman to reach the last four at Miami.
“I’m really happy that I’ve come through and I am just looking forward to my next round – it’s going to be a tough one,” said Konta.
Halep settled well in the opening set, with her powerful forehand dominant, but Konta fought back well in the second.
The Australia-born Konta broke early to establish a 3-0 lead but the gritty Romanian clawed her way back winning the next three games while her opponent failed to make the most of her openings in what was an error-strewn contest.
Nonethless, Konta stuck at her task and was able to break again when Halep was serving for the match and force a tie-break which she eventually won 9-7 to take the pair into the third game.
There was a tense discussion between Halep and her Australian coach Darren Cahill.
Konta broke in the fifth game of the deciding set and visibly growing in confidence she broke again to take a 5-2 lead and serve out for the match.


Evergreen Venus Williams downs world No 1 Angelique Kerber to set up Konta clash in Miami

Venus Williams has beaten world number one Angelique Kerber to set up a semi-final clash with Konta. Photo: EPA

epa05878087 Venus Williams of the USA reacts after defeating Angelique Kerber of Germany following their quarterfinal match at the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 29 March 2017. EPA/RHONA WISE

Germany's Angelique Kerber returns a shot against the United States' Venus Williams in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., on Wednesday, March 29, 2017. (David Santiago/El Nuevo Herald/TNS)

Sport

Tennis

American rolls back the years to send world number one crashing out of the Miami Open and advances to semi-final showdown with Briton


Evergreen Venus Williams downs world No 1 Angelique Kerber to set up Konta clash in Miami

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}American rolls back the years to send world number one crashing out of the Miami Open and advances to semi-final showdown with Briton

American rolls back the years to send world number one crashing out of the Miami Open and advances to semi-final showdown with Briton