Serena Williams advances to U.S. Open finals, a year after missing tournament to give birth

After yet another show of force at the U.S. Open, Serena Williams is one match away from reaching yet another milestone in an already incredible career. The tennis legend topped Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-0 on Thursday to reach the U.S. Open finals.

With a win on Saturday in the finals, Williams would take the 24th Grand Slam singles title of her career and move into a tie with Margaret Court for the most Grand Slam singles titles in tennis history.

Williams’ only stumble came at the beginning of the match, when Sevastova broke her first service game to win the first two games of the match. However, it was all Serena from there, with the American winning 12 of the next 13 games to blow out the Latvian 19-seed.

All of this comes 370 days after Williams gave birth to her first child on Sept. 1, 2017, which forced her to miss nearly the entire tennis season last year. After reaching the fourth round of the French Open and the finals of Wimbledon this year, Williams now has another shot to capture her first Grand Slam since.

“A year ago, I was fighting for literally my life at the hospital after I had the baby,” Williams said on ESPN’s broadcast after the match. “Every day I step on this court, I am grateful that I have an opportunity to play this sport. No matter what happens in any match, semis, finals, I just feel like I’ve already won.”

Williams will face the winner of the other semifinal between Madison Keys and Naomi Osaka.

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