(MENAFN- Arab Times) World number one Serena Williams stayed on course for the first calendar Grand Slam since 1988, advancing to the US Open semifinals Tuesday by defeating older sister Venus Williams 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.
Three-time defending champion Serena reached a Thursday semifinal against Italy's 43rd-ranked Roberta Vinci, who eliminated France's 40th-ranked Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Serena, who holds all four major trophies, moved two wins from completing the first calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf 27 years ago and matching Graf's career Open Era record of 22 singles titles, two shy of Australian Margaret Court's all-time mark.
Playing at a high level throughout, the sisters staged a classic at Arthur Ashe Stadium, which was jam-packed with 23,771 fans, including such celebrities as US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and TV mogul Oprah Winfrey.
Serena fired 35 winners with 22 unforced errors and 12 aces, the last coming on match point. Venus had 24 winners, 15 unforced errors and eight aces.
Three-time defending champion Serena, the younger sister by two years at 33, improved to 53-2 on the season and took a 16-11 edge in the sibling rivalry, including an 9-5 advantage in Grand Slam meetings and a 3-2 lead in US Open results.
Serena, seeking an Open Era record seventh US Open crown overall, is on a 33-match Grand Slam win streak and a 26-match US Open win streak, her last loss on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts coming to Samantha Stosur in the 2011 final.
Venus, on her deepest US Open run in five years, was seen as one of the big threats to spoil Serena's historic run.
Venus, seeded 23rd, sought her third US Open crown after 2000 and 2001 to add to a Slam trophy haul that also includes five Wimbledon titles, the most recent in 2008.
In the third set, Serena fired a backhand winner to break Venus, fought off a break point to hold for a 3-0 edge and held serve to the end of the 98-minute spectacle.
Serena is 4-0 in her career against Vinci, 32, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal in her 44th Slam start.
The Serena-Venus rivalry, born on concrete courts in rough neighborhoods of 1980s suburban Los Angeles, is the second-most contested at Grand Slam events in the Open Era, their 14 meetings second only to the 22 between Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.
Serena has won seven of the past eight meetings with Venus, including a win at Wimbledon two months ago.
The Williamses tested each other emotionally and with some of the best skills in tennis.
Venus saved a break point and held serve in the opening game. Serena broke in the fifth with a forehand winner and the seventh when Venus sent a forehand long, then held at love to claim the first set.
Serena double faulted to surrender her first break, giving Venus a 3-1 lead. Venus held at love, broke again and held when Serena netted a forehand to force a third set, the 11th Serena faced in her calendar Slam run.
Serena could become the oldest Grand Slam champion by capturing her 70th overall career title on Saturday.
Venus was the oldest quarter-finalist at any Slam since Navratilova in 1994 at Wimbledon at age 37. She's the second-oldest quarter-finalist at the US Open in the Open Era (since 1968), about six months younger than Billie Jean King in 1979.
Novak Djokovic defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) to reach the US Open semifinals, a 21st last-four spot in his last 22 Grand Slams.
The top seed and 2011 champion, playing in his 26th consecutive quarter-final at the majors, claimed his 55th match win in New York.
Djokovic, this year's Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, also enjoyed his fifth win in five meetings against Lopez and will take a staggering 13-0 career record over defending champion Marin Cilic into their Friday semifinal.
Cilic reached the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 win over France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Djokovic had been pushed to four sets by Lopez's Spanish compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut in the previous round.
But the 33-year-old Lopez, playing in his first US Open quarter-final after 55 consecutive Grand Slam appearances, was shellshocked in the first set.
In front of a subdued Arthur Ashe Stadium which had thinned out after the Serena Williams-Venus Williams blockbuster, Lopez managed just five points on the Djokovic serve in the 25-minute opener and was broken twice.
But Lopez, one of four men over 30 to make the last-eight, rallied in the second set, breaking in the second game on his way to a 4-1 lead.
Djokovic saved one set point but a 10th ace gave serve-and-volleyer Lopez the set 6-3.
The Serb, bidding for a 10th Grand Slam title in New York, took the only break of the third set off a Lopez double fault in the second game.
He then played the perfect tie-breaker in the fourth to take victory while Lopez was left to rue his 48 unforced errors in a match which finished just after 1am on Wednesday.
Over a four-hour battle on Arthur Ashe Stadium, 26-year-old Cilic claimed a fifth win in six matches against Tsonga, firing 29 aces and 63 winners.
But the 30-year-old Tsonga made him work in 35-degree (95 F) heat, saving four match points before the champion went through.
Tsonga, who had also made the quarter-finals in 2011, went into the tie having not been broken in 56 service games at this year's US Open.
Cilic had to save four break points in the sixth game of the opener.
But it was the Frenchman who cracked first, his perfect serving run ending at 60 as Cilic converted on a fourth break point for a 5-4 lead on his way to securing the opener.
Cilic turned the screw again in the second set, breaking for 3-2 courtesy of a fifth double fault served up by Tsonga.
Tsonga looked doomed when he managed just three points off the first three Cilic service games of the third set, but shook himself out of his lethargy to win three games on the bounce and claim the set.
Tsonga fought off two match points in the 10th game of the fourth set and another in the 12th.
The 30-year-old capitalised, sweeping the tie-breaker, topped off by a 13th ace of the contest.
But Cilic finished the fresher, breaking for a 3-2 lead and despite double-faulting on a fourth match point in the 10th game, he secured victory when Tsonga fired a forehand wide.
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