NEW YORK — When the U.S. Open needed her most, amidst sweltering weather conditions that have plagued tennis’ biggest stars all tournament, Serena Williams came through. As she nearly always does.
Two major upsets over the past 24 hours sucked major air out of this tournament. On Monday night, Roger Federer lost to world No. 55 John Millman, depriving fans of a dream Federer-Novak Djokovic quarterfinal. Roughly 12 hours later, defending champion Sloane Stephens fell to Anastasija Sevastova, which erased any possibility of a long-awaited meeting between Stephens and Serena at a major.
Had Williams lost to Karolina Pliskova on an uncomfortably warm late summer night, fans would have been treated to a Sevastova-Pliskova semifinal where a Stephens-Serena one could have been.