MELBOURNE, Australia — Serena Williams reached her 10th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal, and kept her bid alive for a record 23rd major title, with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Johanna Konta at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Her opponent in the semifinals, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who beat fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, had a much longer wait to get back to this stage at a major — nearly 18 years.
It’s the second time in the last two years that three women in their 30s have reached the semifinals at a major: Venus Williams, 36, Serena Williams, 35, and Lucic-Baroni, 34. Serena also reached the semifinals at the 2015 US Open, alongside 30-somethings Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci.
“Thirties is the new 10,” Williams said after her match. “No matter what happens, somebody 34 or older will be in the final.”
The second-seeded Williams was tested by Konta in the second set when the British player broke her to go up 2-1. But Williams broke back at love to level the score at 3-all and saved another break point in her next service game before closing out the match.
Williams finished with 10 aces, but only connected on 45 percent of her first serves overall.
“The main focus is actually my serve,” she said. “I missed a lot today. I got a little frustrated.”