MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 26: Serena Williams of the United States serves in her semifinal match against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia on day 11 of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 26, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Serena Williams started slow on Tuesday but ultimately defeated Italian youngster Camila Giorgi to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
The 36-year-old American and No. 25 seed beat World No. 52 Giorgi 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Williams will next play Julia Gorges, a German No. 13 seed, on Thursday.
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Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion and seven-time Wimbledon winner, is entering her 11th semi-final at London’s All England Club. Her first-set loss to Giorgi on Tuesday was her first dropped one at the tournament thus far this year.
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“I feel good, I feel like I did better today, I had to,” Williams said to BBC Sport. “This is only my fourth tournament back so I don’t feel pressure, I don’t feel I have to win this. I still have a long way to go to be where I was.”
Last month, Williams pulled out in the early rounds of the French Open due to a pectoral injury.
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The other women’s semi-final will see No. 11 seed Angelique Kerber face Latvian 12th seed Jelena Ostapenko.
On the men’s side, Juan Martin del Potro, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Kevin Anderson, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic and American John Isner have all advanced to the quarter-finals.
Del Potro, 29, is in the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time since 2013.
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