Karolina Pliskova ruined any chance of another Flushing Meadows sister showdown as she claimed a dramatic 4-6 6-4 7-6(3) win over sixth-seeded Venus Williams on Monday to reach the US Open quarter-finals.
At 36-years-old and the oldest remaining player in the draw, Williams battled until the bitter end as her 24-year-old Czech opponent needed five match points to finally put away the two-time champion.
Pliskova reached the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career by coming back to edge seven-time major champion Williams 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Monday in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 24-year-old Pliskova had never been past the third round in 17 previous appearances at majors.
Now it is 10th-seeded Pliskova, who will play Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska or Croatia’s Ana Konjuh in the quarters, that would need to complete a Williams double to reach her first grand slam final.
(With inputs from Reuters and AP)