US Open 2018 Live: Naomi Osaka* 6-2, 1-0 Madison Keys (* denotes server) Madison Keys has squandered six break point chances but she continues to create chances. 17 shot rally with both players thrashing the ball on the forehand and Keys blinks in the end to let a seventh break point go waste. She creates another one as Osaka sends her forehand long. And saved once again! Osaka finding the smallest of angles and the backhand reply is off the line to bring it back to deuce. Another chance now for Keys as the game reaches almost eight minutes. Keys with a thumping forehand winner on the serve. But she follows it up with a return into the net. 0/9 on break points now Keys. 10th break point chance now for Keys with a lovely drop shot volley. And make that another chance going to waste. Osaka with a big serve and opening up the court with a deep reply. 6th deuce of the game now. Osaka with a backhand into the net and yet another break point - fifth of this game. Will this be it? Game over 10 minutes now. WHAT. A. SECOND. SERVE. Huge, huge ace down the tee and Keys can't help but smile with the bravery on that serve. Another break point for Keys and another ace. What is this game?<doc-sep>Six-time US Open champion Serena Williams’s return to the top of her game continues as she takes on Anastasija Sevastova in the first US Open women’s semi-final. It’s been an intense journey for the 23-Grand Slam Winner including a Wimbledon 2018 final loss and a walkover in the fourth round of the French Open against long-time rival Maria Sharapova. In the other US Open semi-final match, 20-year-old Naomi Osaka is making just her third appearance at Flushing Meadows, taking on last year’s finalist Madison Keys. Here is all you need to know about this year’s US Open women’s semi-final matches including when they are on, who is playing and how to watch them. Serena Williams, the six-time US Open women's champion will take on Anastasija Sevastova When are the US Open women’s semi-finals? The US Open Women’s semi-finals will take place on Thursday, September 6 at 7pm ET (midnight BST). Serena Williams takes on Anastasija Sevastova while Naomi Osaka takes on Madison Keys in the other semi-final match. Road to the semi-finals Following Serena Williams’s return to action in September 2017 after giving birth to a baby daughter, the six-time US Open champion has been gradually returning to her formidable peak. Following her disappointing WImbledon 2018 loss, Williams looks like she is hitting her stride at this year’s Flushing Meadows tournament. Breezing through the first three rounds without dropping a set or losing more than two games, Williams overcame a brief resurgence from Kaia Kanepi in the fourth round before getting revenge on eighth seed Karolina Pliskova, who beat Williams in the Wimbledon 2018 final. Williams’s semi-final opponent Sevastova made the news when she knocked out defending US champion and third seed Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals with a breezy 6-2 6-3 score. Like Williams, Sevastova was getting her revenge in the QF, having lost to Stephens at last year’s tournament. Stephens also beat Sevastova 6-2 6-2 at the Canadian Masters in Montreal earlier in the year. The other semi-final tie sees Naomi Osaka take on 19th seed Madison Keys. This will be Osaka’s, who is just 20-years-old, first Grand Slam semi-final, and just her third appearance at the tournament. Following her straight set wins in the first three rounds, Osaka knocked out 26th seed Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round before steam-rolling Lesia Tsurenko 6-1 6-1 in the quarter-finals. She is the first Japanese woman in 22 years to reach the SF of a Grand Slam. Her opponent is the 2017 US Open finalist Madison Keys, who’s had a tougher run this year. Despite dropping just one set so far, Keys has played more games than Osaka, winning her first round 6-4 6-4; second round 6-4 6-1, before coming back from a set down in the third round against Aleksandra Krunic. She beat Dominika Cibulkova 6-1 6-3 in the fourth round and Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4 6-3 in the QF. How to watch the US Open semi-finals on TV In the US, US Open followers can watch the semi-final matches on ESPN, while British viewers can catch Serena Williams and the others in action on Amazon Prime. When is the US Open women’s final? The US Open Women’s Final will take place on Saturday, September 8 at 4pm ET (9pm BST).<doc-sep>NEW YORK (AP) -- Serena Williams was a bit shaky at the start of her U.S. Open semifinal. For all of six minutes. That's how long it took her to drop the opening two games Thursday night. Williams spent the next hour playing flawlessly, particularly up at the net, grabbing 12 of 13 games to beat No. 19 seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-3, 6-0 and reach her ninth final at Flushing Meadows and 31st at all Grand Slam tournaments. ''I've been working hard on my volleys. I have won a few doubles championships, so I know how to volley,'' Williams said with a laugh, before adding this punch line: ''I just usually come in only to shake hands.'' With one more victory, Williams will earn her seventh U.S. Open championship and her 24th major singles trophy, equaling Margaret Court for the most in tennis history. Williams already owns the mark for the most in the half-century professional era; Court won some of hers against amateur competition. On Saturday, Williams will face No. 20 seed Naomi Osaka, a 20-year-old who is the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam final. Osaka saved all 13 break points she faced Thursday and defeated 2017 runner-up Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4. Asked during her on-court interview how she managed to stave off all of those break chances, Osaka replied with a laugh, ''This is going to sound really bad, but I was just thinking, 'I really want to play Serena.''' Why? ''Because she's Serena,'' Osaka said. ''Like, what do you mean?'' Williams had lost in the semifinals in her previous two trips to New York - against Roberta Vinci in 2015 while bidding for a calendar-year Grand Slam, and against Karolina Pliskova in 2016. A year ago, Williams missed the U.S. Open because she gave birth to her daughter, Olympia, during the tournament. She then dealt with complications related to blood clots. The American returned to the tour in February and to Grand Slam action at the French Open in May, when she had to withdraw from the field with an injured chest muscle. At her second major back, Wimbledon, she was the runner-up. Story continues Now comes a chance to take a title and become, a few weeks shy of turning 37, the oldest woman to win a Slam in singles. ''It's honestly really incredible. A year ago, I was fighting for, literally, my life at the hospital after I had the baby,'' Williams said, her voice wavering. ''So every day I step out on this court, I am so grateful that I have an opportunity to play this sport, you know? So no matter what happens in any match - semis, finals - I just feel like I've already won.'' Sevastova was participating in a major semi for the first time at age 28. While she began the evening well enough in Arthur Ashe Stadium by turning in two error-free games for a quick 2-0 lead, that all soon changed. The roof was closed hours earlier because of a forecast calling for rain and strong wind, and so the screams and applause reverberated through the place whenever spectators roared for Williams, during the pre-match introductions, when she stepped to the baseline to serve in the opening game, and then after nearly every point she won. And there were plenty of those. Total winners? Williams led 31-10 in that category. And Sevastova's penchant for drop shots did not pay off: She lost three points in the first set alone with miscues that landed on the wrong side of the net. ''She got a little bit lucky, I think, on some breaks in the first set. Then she started feeling better. When she's in front, it's tough to play,'' said Sevastova, who retired from tennis in 2013, then returned to the tour in 2015. ''She stayed focused in the second set.'' The key for Williams, really, was something of a new wrinkle: moving forward as much as possible. Sevastova changes speeds and angles a lot, which helped her eliminate defending champion Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals. In order to avoid too many lengthy exchanges from the baseline, Williams and her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, thought it made more sense to press Sevastova. It worked. And how. Williams won 24 of the 28 points when she went to the net. Add that to her usual powerful baseline game and always superb serve, which reached 120 mph (194 kph), and this really was no contest at all. ''To come this far, so fast,'' Williams told the fans afterward, ''I'm just beginning, you guys.'' Osaka is at the beginning of what could be a marvelous career. She is the youngest woman to reach a U.S. Open final since 2009 and only has one tour-level title so far, which came on a hard court this season. She was born in Japan, but moved to New York at the age of 3 and is now based in Florida. Her coach is Sascha Bajin, who used to be Williams' hitting partner. ''Mom, I did it. I love you. Thank you,'' Osaka said during her interview. Up in the stands, her mother put two thumbs up and applauded. Encouraged to direct a message to Williams, Osaka said, ''I love you,'' then giggled and covered her face, before adding, ''I love everybody.'' --- Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich --- More AP tennis coverage: https://www.apnews.com/tag/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports<doc-sep>
Jason DeCrow/Associated Press The women's semi-finals of the 2018 U.S. Open will be played on Thursday, as both Serena Williams and Madison Keys will be in action at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Williams will take on Anastasija Sevastova to open the evening session at 7 p.m. ET (midnight BST) before Keys faces off with Naomi Osaka. ESPN and Tennis Channel will carry full coverage for American fans, while British lovers of the sport can tune in through Amazon Prime. You can access live streams via the ESPN player, the Tennis Channel's official website and Amazon Prime. Sevastova enters the semi-finals playing some of the best tennis of her career and coming off a major upset win over defending champion Sloane Stephens. The 28-year-old blasted her way past Stephens in two short sets, advancing to the final four at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career. It's been quite the turnaround for Sevastova: Williams had to overcome some early adversity to beat Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-finals, and for the second match in a row, the 36-year-old managed to elevate her play when she needed to the most. Video Play Button Videos you might like Her mental strength could be tested yet again in the semi-finals, as Sevastova has an uncanny ability to frustrate opponents. Her game is built around trickery and limiting mistakes, and it has worked well this year, with a win in Bucharest and finals appearance in Mallorca. She also has a tendency to get emotional, per tennis writer Tumaini Carayol, and it has distracted opponents in the past: At times, Williams has looked unplayable at Flushing Meadows, combining phenomenal work from the baseline with great defensive efforts. If she can hit her top level and maintain it, the American should win this encounter, but she has suffered drops in form in each of her past two matches. The other semi-final will feature two of the sport's best young talents, in what could be a preview of a great rivalry for years to come. Keys, 23, is unbeaten in two meetings with Osaka, 20, and both carry tons of momentum into this match. Keys beat Carla Suarez Navarro in her quarter-final outing, while Osaka demolished Lesia Tsurenko, losing just two games. It took her less than an hour: Both rising stars stand out for their power and willingness to exchange from the baseline, setting up a tantalising clash from a stylistic perspective. While many fans will tune in to watch Williams, it should be worth hanging around for the late match as well.