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U.S. Open women's semifinal preview and predictions
NEW YORK -- Is this the Summer of Serena, the Summer of Woz, or will see an unheralded journeywoman in Saturday's U.S. Open final? It's never a surprise to see a Russian and a Chinese woman into the semifinals of a Slam, but the familiar names of Maria Sharapova and Li Na have been replaced at this year's U.S. Open with two Slam semifinal debutantes. Unseeded Peng Shuai takes on No. 11 Caroline Wozniacki in the first semifinal, and No. 18 Ekaterina Makarova will go for her third straight upset when she faces No. 1 Serena Williams in the second semifinal match on Friday afternoon.
No. 1 Serena Williams vs. No. 18 Ekaterina Makarova: Neither woman has lost a set coming into the semifinals, but Serena had the far more easier road, facing just one seed in five matches. Makarova has notched two big wins over the last two rounds, first with a win over seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard and then two-time defending finalist Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals.
Classic Photos of Serena Williams
From her humble beginnings, Serena Williams has climbed to the top of the tennis world. Here are some rare photos of the woman Billie Jean King says is the best player in tennis history.
Serena Williams playing tennis in Florida in 1992.
Growing up in Compton, Calif., Serena worked tirelessly with Venus and their father to hone her skills.
Their California roots got Serena and Venus a photo op with President Ronald Reagan and wife, Nancy.
All five of the Williams sisters were exposed to tennis at an early age, but Serena and Venus seemed to display the most interest and strongest prospects.
In 1992, Serena, then 10, and Venus, then 12, stunned the tennis world when they each won their single divisions in the Southern California Junior Sectional Championships.
After several years living in Compton, Richard Williams relocated the family to Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., to enroll Serena and Venus in Rick Macci's renown tennis academy.
Serena was on hand for Venus's pro debut at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena in October 1994. The family, including mom Oracene, are pictured here before that event.
Serena was in Venus's shadow for several years, but has matured into the more accomplished player.
Serena Williams
At 17, Serena became the first African-American woman since Althea Gibson to win a Grand Slam title.
Venus and Serena, pictured here with Lindsay Davenport and Monica Seles, helped lead the U.S. in its 4-1 Federation Cup victory against Russia in 1999.
The sisters got in touch with their patriotic side during a 2000 photo shoot for SI. Serena has won four Olympic medals while representing the U.S., three in doubles and the other in singles.
Despite their undeniable skills and stockpile of titles, the Williams sisters have been accused of slacking off when pitted against each other in competition. Venus and Serena have vehemently denied those claims. Serena leads the head-to-head series 14-11 through August 2014.
Serena lost in hair-raising fashion in the quarterfinals of the first three majors in 2001, but made the final of the U.S. Open, which she lost to Venus.
Serena capped off a busy 2001 by carrying the Olympic torch in the leadup to the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.
Julie Foudy, Summer Sanders and Serena appeared with Ronald McDonald at the World Children's Day Event in New York City in November 2002.
Serena created a stir when she competed in this cat suit at the 2002 U.S. Open.
Serena's appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno coincided with her inclusion in the SI Swimsuit issue.
Serena's swimsuit poses didn't stop with SI. Here she poses during a December shoot.
Serena had a clothing line with Puma in the early years, but signed with Nike in 2004.
Serena in action at Fairmont Stadium in Arizona, where she had won the State Farm Classic the year before.
Serena's victory over Venus in the 2003 Australian Open made her the fifth woman to hold all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously. The media dubbed it the Serena Slam.
Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty showed Serena around the garage area when she attended the Ford 400 in Homestead, Fla.
Pictured with Laura Harring and David Coulthard, Serena helped present the 2003 Comeback of the Year Award to soccer phenom Ronaldo at the Laureus World Sports awards.
Serena Williams
Serena turned heads again at the 2004 U.S. Open, when she took to the court in this outfit. Officials told her to ditch the knee-high boots.
Serena Williams
Serena's 2005 Australian outfit wasn't quite as flamboyant, but reinforced that she does have a fashion sense about her.
Serena Williams
Seen here playing with her two dogs, Bambi and Jackie, Serena struggled through 2005 as a variety of injuries caused her to have her first non-Top 10 finish since 1998.
Recovering from a knee injury, Serena didn't win a single tournament in 2006 and finished the year ranked 95th in the world.
Serena celebrates a point during the 2007 Australian Open finals against Maria Sharapova. Williams, who was unseeded because of her World No. 81 ranking, continued on to beat Sharapova and win the tournament.
Serena Williams
Serena made it to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2007, where she lost to world No. 1 Justine Henin.
Serena Williams
Serena unveiled her trench coat look at Wimbledon in 2008.
Serena lost 7-5, 6-4 to Venus in the finals at Wimbledon in 2008.
Serena and Venus rejoice after they beat Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain during the gold medal match at the Beijing Olympics.
The victory was their second consecutive gold medal in doubles.
Serena Williams
Serena reacts after defeating Jelena Jankovic to win the 2008 U.S. Open title.
Serena poses with Kim and Khloe Kardashian and rapper Common, whom she once dated.
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross with Serena and Venus after it was announced they had become minority owners of the NFL football team.
Serena kids around after winning a title in Melbourne.
Serena had an 18-match Grand Slam tournament winning streak snapped at the 2009 French Open.
Serena famously lost her temper at the 2009 U.S. Open, berating the line judge for calling a foot fault. She was assessed a point penalty, which happened to be on match point in the semifinal, giving the victory to Clijsters, 6-4, 7-5.
Serena is seen here enjoying a White Sox-Yankees game with former Bronx bomber Reggie Jackson.
Other than her 2002 victory in the French Open, Serena had never made another final at Roland Garros. That is, until she won the 2013 edition.
Queen Elizabeth II meets Roger Federer, Serena, Novak Djokovic and others on Day 4 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. It was the first visit by Queen Elizabeth II to the Championships in 33 years.
Serena didn't lose a set in winning Wimbledon in 2010.
Serena and Venus, the two-time defending doubles champions at Wimbledon, lost in the quarterfinals in 2010. Serena cut her foot on a piece of glass a few days afterwards and missed the rest of the season.
Serena and Venus at the end of their exhibition match at La Macarena bullring in Medellin.
Serena Williams
Serena along with Kim Kardashian and Sean "Diddy" Combs at a 2012 Pre-Grammy gala.
Serena Williams
Serena on the red carpet at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in West Hollywood. That same week she underwent emergency treatment for a blood clot in her lungs.
Serena, Tim Tebow and Venus at the 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
Serena was overcome by emotion after winning her fifth Wimbledon title. The victory came a little more than a year after she had been hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism. It was the first Wimbledon title by an over-30 woman since Martina Navratilova in 1990.
Serena Williams
Wimbledon singles champions Serena Williams and Roger Federer at the Wimbledon Championships 2012 Winners Ball. It marked her third Wimbledon title in four years.
Serena Williams
Venus and Richard Williams congratulate Serena after she won her first major title in two years.
Serena poses with members of Engine 54 Ladder 4 Battalion 9 in New York the day after winning the U.S. Open.
Serena Williams
Serena won seven tournaments in 2012, including the WTA Championships in Istanbul.
Serena plays a forehand during the 2013 Australian Open. She lost in the quarterfinals to Sloane Stephens, who later in the year said several critical remarks about Williams.
Serena Williams
Two points from defeat in the Open final, Serena regained her composure to come back and win the last four games, beating No. 1-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 for her fourth U.S. Open title and 15th Grand Slam title overall.
Serena poses after winning the Sony Tennis Open 2013 in Key Biscayne, Fla.
Serena finally cast off her Parisian demons—she hadn't been past the quarterfinals since 2004—to win her second French Open title 11 years after her first title in 2002.
Serena wins the U.S. Open against Victoria Azarenka in 2013.
Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki pose with Miami Heat's Greg Oden and the NBA Eastern Conference championship trophy in 2014.
Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki pose together in the water on May 31, 2014, in Miami Beach.
Serena Williams plays a backhand in her semifinal victory over Madison Keys in the 2015 Australian Open. Serena would go on to defeat Maria Sharapova in the final match for her 19th grand slam singles title.
Serena Williams poses with the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen trophy after winning the singles final against Lucie Safarova at the 2015 French Open.
Serena Williams in action against Lucie Safarova in the Finals of the 2015 French Open.
Serena Williams plays Maria Sharapova in a semifinal match at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.
Serena Williams arrives at the 2015 Wimbledon Champions Dinner at The Guildhall in England.
Serena Williams attends Nike's "NYC Street Tennis" event in August 2015.
Serena, with Estelle, Jason Biggs, Jenny Mollen and Uzo Aduba at the 2nd Annual Delta Open Mic, a few days before the 2015 U.S. Open began.
Serena Williams attends the 2015 Taste of Tennis New York at W New York Hotel while in town for the start of the U.S. Open.
Serena Williams did an inpromtu split during her match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the 2015 U.S. Open.
Serena Williams wipes sweat away after falling 3-0 in the first set to Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the U.S. Open.
Serena Williams in action against Kiki Bertens at the 2015 U.S. Open.
Serena signing autographs for fans at the 2015 U.S. Open.
Serena Williams celebrates after defeating Venus in their quarterfinal match at the 2015 U.S. Open.
Serena and Venus hug after their quarterfinal match at the 2015 U.S. Open.
Serena Williams accepting the 2015 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year award.
Serena Williams after a win over Maria Sharapova at the 2016 French Open.
Serena Williams after winning the 2016 Wimbledon title, her 22nd Grand Slam crown, which tied Steffi Graf for the most in the open era.
Williams has won three of the pair's four meetings, but that 6-2, 6-3 loss in Melbourne in 2012 was a shocker. Makarova's lefty-game can cause Serena problems and the first set will be key. The two faced off earlier this season in Dubai, with Serena winning 7-6 (8), 6-0. Makarova's gameplan is simple, if not difficult, to execute: "Definitely to stay aggressive," she said. "Because she's so aggressive, yes? And I need to be a little bit more aggressive than she is; [make] her move definitely."
Casual fans may not be familiar with Makarova, but the top women on tour are well aware of how dangerous she can be as an opponent. The Russian, into her first Slam semifinal, said she was satisfied with just making the Slam quarterfinals in the past and and didn't have the hunger or ambition to go one step further. Things were different this year, and she played a focused match to take out Azarenka. "It's fun almost because no one expects anything from you and you have no pressure and you can just play so well," Williams said of Makarova's desire to fly under the radar. "But if she continues to win she won't be low profile. I think for more of a top player, she's beaten so many top 10 players, she's definitely not low profile for us. So once we step on that court we just know that she's a player that you cannot take lightly."
Prediction: Serena in 2.
No. 11 Caroline Wozniacki vs. Peng Shuai: Two feel-good stories go in, only one comes out. For Wozniacki, she's doing one heck of a job of forcing everyone to stop talking about that "R" guy and start talking about her. She's looking to make her first Slam final in exactly five years, having done so the first time here in 2009. She has been playing some of the best tennis of the summer, capped off so far by a huge three-set win over Maria Sharapova in the fourth round and an absolute rout of Sara Errani in the quarterfinals, winning 6-0, 6-1 and firing 26 winners. Possibly looming in the final is her friend Serena, who she pushed to three sets twice this summer before taking a narrow loss. Could this be the Summer of Woz?
Best quotes from U.S. Open week one
On the other side of the net is 28-year-old Peng, into her first Slam semifinal in 37 Grand Slam appearances. Often overshadowed by her countrywomen Li Na or Zheng Jie, Peng now joins the semifinalist club after upset wins over No. 5 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 30 Roberta Vinci, No. 15 Lucie Safarova, and 17-year-old Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals. She's done it all without a loss of a set. Peng has served surprisingly well this tournament, hitting good pace around 108 mph, and she's executed her aggressive game-style perfectly. Hitting with two hands off both sides, she's looked a lot like Marion Bartoli over the last week. She's hugging the baseline, stepping into the court and slapping flat shots all around to get her opponents on the move.
Bad hair play: Wozniacki's hair gets caught in her racket during a point
Wozniacki leads the head-to-head 5-1, with Peng's only win coming way back in 2007. This is a very tough match-up for Peng, as Wozniacki's defense and anticipation puts pressure on her to go for too much, or she is forced to hit too many balls. The only counterpuncher she's played so far of Wozniacki's quality is Radwanska, but Wozniacki has been far more aggressive and offensive during this tournament.
Prediction: Wozniacki in 2.
Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.