{"id":248,"date":"2016-09-08T09:07:59","date_gmt":"2016-09-08T13:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/?p=248"},"modified":"2016-09-08T17:04:30","modified_gmt":"2016-09-08T21:04:30","slug":"panelists-predictions-us-open-womens-semifinal-matches-including-wozniackikerber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2016\/09\/08\/panelists-predictions-us-open-womens-semifinal-matches-including-wozniackikerber\/","title":{"rendered":"Panelists Predictions US Open Women’s Semifinal Matches–Including Wozniacki\/Kerber"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s the semifinals, and both have the potential to be excellent matches<\/a>. The two winners will face off for a chance to win a Slam title. Will Serena Williams<\/strong> earn Slam #23? Will Angelique Kerber<\/strong> take the World #1 ranking away? Will Caroline Wozniacki<\/strong> come out of nowhere and finally win a Slam? Find out what our panelists think. Predicting today will be myself (Yesh Ginsburg), along with Steen Kirby, Niall Murray, and Ryan Schick.<\/p>\n

Panelists Predictions US Open Women’s Semifinal Matches<\/h2>\n

Serena Williams vs Karolina Pliskova<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesh:<\/em>
\nI pulled the trigger on predicting the upset against Serena last round, and Simona Halep almost came through for me. Pliskova is not Halep, though. She plays the same style as Serena but Serena just does everything a bit better. Maybe Pliskova can eke out a set if her serve is actually unreturnable, but once rallies get extended Serena just has more power off the ground and can take the ball earlier.
\nPrediction: Williams in 2<\/em><\/p>\n

Steen:<\/em>
\nA battle of big servers, Serena herself said expect a lot of aces and holds, and this match could well stretch into a third set if Pliskova can sneak out a tiebreak. Serena’s strong focused play should earn her a win.
\nPrediction: Williams in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Niall:<\/em>
\nIt\u2019s the battle of arguably the two best servers on the WTA Tour. Nobody has hit more aces than Pl\u00ed\u0161kov\u00e1 this year, but her serve alone is unlikely to be enough to defeat this Williams. The World #1 found herself in a battle against Halep, but still emerged victorious. Serena managed to hit 50 winners and also won 81% of her points at the net against the Romanian. She looks fired up and I can\u2019t see Pl\u00ed\u0161kov\u00e1 getting between her and a 29th Grand Slam final.
\nPrediction: Williams in 2<\/em><\/p>\n

Ryan:<\/em>
\nKarolina Pliskova has looked almost unstoppable the last few weeks, with victories over the 2nd and 3rd ranked players in the world on her way to the title in Cincinnati and a triumph over Venus Williams on her road to this semifinal matchup, as well as a convincing 6-2 6-2 win in the quarterfinals against Ana Konjuh. Serena has been Serena, somehow keeping her elite strength at the age of 34, and until dropping the second set to Halep had not given up more than 3 games to an opponent during a set. This is Pliskova\u2019s first Major that she has advanced past the round of 16, and will have a lot of trouble dealing with pressure against the best in the world and possibly of all time.
\nPrediction: Serena in 2<\/em><\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n