Serena Williams tops Halep at Australian Open quarterfinal

As well as she played at the start of her Australian Open quarterfinal, Serena Williams suddenly was struggling early in the second set. After one mistake against No. 2 seed Simona Halep — who won the last time they played each other — Williams pointed at her racket strings and made a sour face, as if to make clear it wasn't truly her own fault. After another, Williams looked up at her guest box with palms up and asked, “What is happening?” That dismay did not last long. Williams claimed the last five games and beat Halep 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday to return to the final four at Melbourne Park for the first time since she won the tournament in 2017.