Serena Williams has come out on top in the battle of the supermums, rallying back from a set and a break down to defeat Tsvetana Pironkova and reach her 14th US Open semi-final on Wednesday.
In a historic showdown between two mothers, the 38-year-old Williams posted a 4-6 6-3 6-2 win over Pironkova and next faces Victoria Azarenka or Elise Mertens.
Pironkova, unranked but playing with a protected ranking of 123, was contesting her first tournament in over three years, having walked away from the sport mid-2017 to give birth and raise her first child.
Based on the WTA’s available records, this is just the second time two mothers have faced off at a grand slam (Williams played Evgeniya Rodina in the 2018 Wimbledon fourth round), and the first in the quarter-finals stage.
Pironkova took her first set off of Williams since 2011, breaking in the fifth game en route to a one-set lead.
Her inch-perfect lobs and signature down-the-line backhands troubled Williams, and she dropped just five points in total on her own serve.
The Bulgarian, who turns 33 this weekend, started the second set with a service break, but Williams struck right back.
The 23-time major winner came up with a surprise lefty return then broke the Pironkova serve with a gruelling 24-shot rally to inch ahead 5-3.
The American then closed out the set with three consecutive aces.
An early service break gave Williams control of the match and she secured the victory in two hours and 11 minutes.