Tennis superstar Serena Williams was one point away from beating Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday in the Australian Open quarterfinals, but the Czech phenom clawed her way back and won the match.
Williams was up 5-1, 40-30 in the third set of their match when she turned her left ankle awkwardly. She would play through the clear injury, but to no avail. Pliskova, the No. 7 seed in the tournament, won the match 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 to advance to the Australian Open semifinals against Naomi Osaka.
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“I can't say that I choked on those match points," Williams said afterward. "She literally played her best tennis ever on those shots.”
Williams, who didn’t call for a trainer when she appeared to injure her ankle, said after the match that it “seems to be fine.”
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic leaves Rod Laver Arena after defeating United States' Serena Williams in their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
The win puts Pliskova closer to her first Grand Slam trophy.
“I was almost in the locker room, but now I'm standing here as the winner,” she told the crowd after the match.
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The win for Pliskova is a bit of revenge against Williams. Pliskova lost to Williams in the 2018 U.S. Open quarterfinals 4-6, 3-6. Williams ended up losing to Osaka in the controversial final.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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