Serena Williams vs. Simona Halep: Score and Reaction from 2016 US Open

Serena Williams received a scare Wednesday night, but her run at the 2016 U.S. Open in New York continues, as she edged past fifth-seeded Simona Halep 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in a grueling match to clinch a spot in the semifinals against Karolina Pliskova.  

Williams is now 8-1 all-time against Halep—whose lone win against the world No. 1 came two years ago at the WTA Finals in Singapore. She’s also 6-1 versus the Romanian on hard courts. 

Serena Williams is now 27-4 in matchups between top-5 seeds in Grand Slams, best win pct for a woman in Open Era pic.twitter.com/kGEDmk3vQa

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 8, 2016

Serena hadn’t dropped a set at the year’s final Grand Slam entering Wednesday night’s quarterfinal, but she had to be wary of the opposition. Halep previously pushed Williams to three sets on two occasions—including last year in Miami—and those slip-ups figured to put the tournament favorite on alert. 

With their recent history in mind, Serena came out locked and loaded with a fierce serve that has been the foundation of her dominant game all tournament long. She notched three aces during the first game alone prior to a quick break that gave her a 2-0 lead. 

The New York Times’ Christopher Clarey took note of Williams’ intense demeanor during the match’s opening game: 

Um, three aces in the opening game for Serena#messagedelivered

— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) September 7, 2016

Tennis Magazine’s Steve Tignor pointed out Serena’s early statistical dominance: 

After 6 minutes, Serena has 5 aces, 7 winners, and leads Halep 3-0. #USOpen

— Steve Tignor …

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