Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams beat fellow American Coco Vandeweghe to reach the final of the Australian Open on Thursday. The 36-year-old fought back from a set down to beat her much younger opponent 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3 in Melbourne. Vandeweghe, 25, was playing in her first Grand Slam semi-final. The last time Williams was in a Grand Slam singles final was at Wimbledon 2009 eight years ago. She was last seen in the Australian Open final in 2003 and has never won the title.
The first set saw Vandeweghe break Williams’s serve in the first game itself. However, Williams immediately broke back to make it 1-1. The set went down to the wire and into a tie-breaker. Vandeweghe dominated the tie-breaker, winning it 7-3 to bag the set. The second set saw Williams stage an epic comeback, winning it 6-2 to take the match into a decisive third set. Vandeweghe tried her best to stop the Williams onslaught, but was undone by some fine serving and baseline play. She eventually lost the set 6-3 and, thereby, the match.
Williams awaits the winner of the second semi-final, which will see her younger sister Serena Williams play unseeded Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. A victory for the world No. 2 will set up the ninth all-Williams final at a Grand Slam. The last time the duo met was at Wimbledon in 2009, which was also Venus’s last Grand Slam final.
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