(Getty Images) It wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped, but Serena Williams is onto the semifinals of the US Open.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner met a formidable challenger Wednesday night in Simona Halep, who became the first player to take a set off of Williams in New York.
Williams started strong, winning the first set 6-2 on the back of her reliable serve and solid play at the net.
But Halep stayed confident and aggressive, breaking Williams in the third game of the second set and prevailing in a 22-point game to even up the score.

In the decider, it would be Williams who would seize momentum early, grabbing a 3-1 lead. That slight edge was all she needed to advance to the semifinals*6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
There, she’ll hope to avoid another major upset against 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova.*Williams*already stands alone for most major match wins in the Open era and can make more history by passing*Steffi Graf’s Slam title mark. Williams tied Graf with her performance at Wimbledon earlier this summer.*