Serena Williams Knocks Out Peters Twp’s Riske

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) – Serena Williams had to grind out a tough match against fellow American Alison Riske to reach her 12th Wimbledon singles semifinal.  The 23-time Grand Slam champion split her first two sets before pulling out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over 55th-ranked Riske. The 37-year-old Williams trailed 3-1 in the first set and was tied 3-3 in the third before a service break put her in control.  The 11th-seeded Williams next faces Barbora Strycova , who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at age 33 with a 7-6, 6-1 victory over No. 19 Johanna Konta of Britain.
Williams also teamed with Andy Murray to win their second-round mixed doubles match in straight sets over Fabrice Martin and Raquel Atawo.  Seventh seed Simona Halep  will take on No. 8 Elina Svitolina in Thursday’s other semifinal match at Wimbledon. Halep defeated Zhang Shuai of China 7-6, 6-1 to get to her second semifinal at Wimbledon. Svitolina will make her debut in that round at any major tournament following her 7-5, 7-4 victory against Karolina Muchova.