In stark contrast to her previous three matches, top-ranked Serena Williams overpowered Sara Errani on Wednesday to reach the French Open semifinals with a 6-1, 6-3 win.
A two-time champion in Paris, Williams extended her unbeaten record against the 2012 French Open runner-up to nine matches.
The 19-time Grand Slam champion got off to sluggish starts and lost the opening set in her last three matches. She didn’t have that problem on Wednesday.
“It was very important for me to take a very good start,” said Williams, speaking in French during her on-court interview. “The last four French Opens in a row she’s been to the quarterfinals or better, so I knew I had to play very well today.”
Williams broke for a 2-0 lead but dropped her serve in the next game. She saved a break point in the fifth game with a crosscourt backhand punctuated with a big “Come On!” and held after hitting a 121 mph (195 kph) ace.
Errani played deeper in the second set but was broken two more times.
Bacsinszky defeated Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium 6-4, 7-5. The other women’s semifinal will pit seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic against No. 13 lucie Safarova.
Errani fought hard to stay in the match on her final service game and saved three match points before going down. Williams missed an easy smash on the third one but earned another one with a powerful backhand down the line before Errani netted a forehand.
Andy Murray has reached the French Open semifinals for the second straight year and the third time in his career after beating David Ferrer 7-6 (4), 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
In defeating Ferrer for the third straight time, Murray improved his career record against the seventh-seeded Spaniard to 10-6.
Next up for the third-seeded Murray is an even tougher test: top-ranked Novak Djokovic.