Serena Williams rolls into semis with 100th US Open win

For the past nine days, familiar names and exciting new ones have dominated the US Open headlines.

Meanwhile, in the women's singles, Belgian 25th seed Elise Mertens cruised past 141st-ranked U.S. wildcard Kristie Ahn 6-1, 6-1 in 67 minutes to book a quarter-final berth against 19-year-old Canadian 15th seed Bianca Andreescu.

This is the portion of the tournament that is supposed to be where winning a Grand Slam title gets hard, where the remaining players are among the very best opposition around.

Serena Williams clinched the win Tuesday night, beating out Wang Qiang 6-1.

"She doesn't make a lot of mistakes", said Williams when asked about the upcoming matchup.

The way she hit groundstrokes from the baseline? Svitolina said Monfils, her frequent practice partner, has been a source of encouragement throughout the tournament. The revelation has raised her profile off the tennis court, thanks in large part to their joint Instagram account which documents their travels around the world and life on tour for their almost 100,000 followers.

Williams collected her 100th US Open win against Wang, leaving her one shy of the mark belonging to Chris Evert - a record she could eclipse by lifting a seventh title here. "I had to come out here and play really well", said Williams, suffering no ill effects from the ankle she rolled in her previous match.

"Just disappointed it's over".

It was a scary reminder of Williams' ability to bully any opponent on her day, albeit that days like these are scarcer for her as a soon-to-be 38-year-old than they were in her prime. "A missed opportunity, to some extent".

Next up for Williams is a semifinal matchup with fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina.

Serena Williams stands in the way of Bianca Andreescu and silverware on Saturday

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Dimitrov will play No. 5 Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals Friday.

After not making a Grand Slam semifinal in her first 25 or so attempts, she's now made two straight.

Wang admitted she was utterly overwhelmed by Williams' energy. She won 50 of the match's 65 points. Wang, meanwhile, didn't have a single victor in the match. "Just need to do more on everything".

That's a big reason Wang could not manage even one victor.

'Yeah, that's a superb stat for me. I actually felt like I was doing a lot of good things out there, a lot of the right things.

Williams said: "That was a tough Olympics for me". I move when I want to move.

It was the American's 100th win at her home slam. The Chinese was playing her first-ever Slam quarter-final, and that showed in her early body language.

"I never thought I would get to 100 wins and still be here but I love what I do", she said to reporters after her match at Flushing Meadows. I suppose I needed to maneuver tonight'. "But I love what I do". "There's a lot to look back and smile on". Or maybe it was just that she wanted to show the world what belonging to the big stage really meant. "I was surprised, too".

Monfils will play on Thursday too, when he takes on No. 24 Matteo Berrettini.