Serena scores US Open ton

Serena Williams earned her 100th win at the US Open with a brutal 44minute demolition of Wang Qiang firing an ominous warning to rivals in her pursuit of a recordtying 24th Grand Slam title Sixtime US Open champion Williams on Tuesday dismantled Chinese 18th seed Wang 61 60 in a complete mismatch that was the quickest at this years tournament to set up a semifinal clash with Ukrainian trailblazer Elina SvitolinaWilliams brought up a century of US Open wins to move to within one of the alltime leader Chris Evert Its really unbelievable literally From when I first started here I think I was 16 I didnt think I would ever get to 100 I didnt think I would still be out here Williams saidThe 37yearold American is seeking a 24th major title to match Margaret Courts longstanding record and smacked 25 winners against firsttime Slam quarterfinalist Wang who failed to hit a single oneThe 27yearold Wang had not lost a set during her best Slam run that included a defeat of reigning French Open champion Ashleigh Barty in the last 16 but she was powerless to stop a Williams onslaught at Arthur Ashe StadiumWhen I play someone who is playing really well I know I have to either step it up or go home and I wasnt ready to go home I had to come out here and play really well said Williams suffering no ill effects from the ankle she rolled in her previous matchPhysically Im feeling great More than anything Im just having fun every time I come out here Wang trying to become just the fourth Chinese player to reach the last four of a Slam won just four points in the second set and 15 in totalIts not easy to play against her Wang saidThe power like I cannot handle it Just too much for me Williams captured her last Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant and hasnt won the US Open since 2014Svitolina holds off KontaFifth seed Svitolina defeated Britains Johanna Konta 64 64 to become the first Ukrainian to reach the US Open semifinals matching her run to the last four at Wimbledon in July It feels amazing It was a very very tough match We were both striking the ball well It was quite even Svitolina saidIm very very happy the way I handled the pressureSvitolina watched a pair of match points pass her by at 53 on her opponents serve as Konta gamely fought to stay alive but the Ukrainian closed out victory in the following game Svitolina had already knocked out twotime former champion Venus Williams and 2017 runnerup Madison Keys and is in a class of her own as the only Ukrainian woman to reach this stage at a majorShe will attempt to emulate Andrei Medvedev as just the second Ukrainian to play in a Grand Slam final Medvedev lost the mens 1999 Roland Garros final in five sets to Andre Agassi Serena is an amazing champion Probably its going to be really tough against her Svitolina said Williams the lone former Grand Slam champion remaining in the draw has defeated Svitolina in four of five previous meetings although the latter won their most recent encounter at the 2016 Rio OlympicsKonta who took out third seed and 2016 runnerup Karolina Pliskova in the last 16 was denied in her bid to be the first British woman to make the US Open semis since Jo Durie in 1983 She played so well to be honest Actually I didnt play badly at all said Konta reflecting on a season in which she reached the quarterfinals or better at three SlamsIts the best I have ever done so far in my career There is a lot to be proud of there Theres a lot to look back and smile on The US Open is guaranteed a firsttime major finalist and there will be four different Grand Slam winners in a season in the Open era for an unprecedented third year in a rowCanadian teen Bianca Andreescu who hasnt lost a completed match since March takes on Belgian 25th seed Elise Mertens in Wednesdays quarterfinals Swiss 13th seed Belinda Bencic faces good friend Donna Vekic the 23rd seed from Croatia in the other lasteight clashCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates