Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky, who two years ago was so disillusioned with tennis that she was working towards a career in hotel management, reached her first ever grand slam semi-final on Wednesday as she beat the unseeded Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck 6-4, 7-5.
The 25-year-old Bacsinszky, seeded 23rd, followed up her win over Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova with another assured performance as she became the first Swiss woman to reach the last four at a grand slam since Patty Schnyder at the 2004 US Open. She will meet Serena Williams after the world No1 crushed Italy’s Sara Errani 6-1, 6-3.