NEW YORK (AFP) - Six-time champion Serena Williams used a blazing start and battling finish to reach the US Open quarter-finals on Sunday (Sept 2) with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Kaia Kanepi.

Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion seeking a first major since a 2017 Australian Open title won when she was pregnant with her daughter Olympia, will take on Karolina Pliskova for a semi-final spot after the eighth-seeded Czech beat Australian Ashleigh Barty 6-4, 6-4.