Back to the Tennis Newsfeed

Wimbledon 2019: Serena Williams Returns to the Semifinals

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

WIMBLEDON, England — Third sets have been good to Alison Riske in the best Wimbledon of her career. But she had never played one against Serena Williams.

Riske pushed her much more celebrated opponent hard and into the corners on Centre Court on Tuesday, but Williams came up with the big serves and shots on the run that she needed to win a hotly contested, deeply entertaining quarterfinal, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Williams, at age 37, is now within striking distance again of the Grand Slam title that has eluded her since she returned to the circuit in March 2018 after giving birth to her daughter.