Serena Williams struggled with her serve in the first set before finding the range to score a 7-5 6-1 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the U.S. Open Three-time winner Williams lost serve three times in the opening set as the first six games went against serve before the American got on track, breaking the 17th-seeded Russian in the 12th game to end the opening set. Williams, who has yet to lose a set, got on a roll after that, losing just three points on serve in the second set and ending the 79-minute match with her sixth ace. “I had a few errors in the beginning,” Williams told the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd after the quarter-final. “But I'm happy that I'm through and I'm really excited.” The 29-year-old American, playing just her sixth tournament this year after being sidelined by injuries and health concerns, will play either top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark or 10th seed Andrea Petkovic of Germany in the last four.
