Serena Williams, with all kinds of history nearly within her grasp, won a dramatic quarterfinal match Wednesday night, escaping a fiery challenge from No. 5 seed Simona Halep, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
"I knew I could play a lot better," Williams said during her on-court interview, in reference to her performance in the second set.
"I felt I lost my rhythm, and Simona started playing better.
"I knew I had to step it up in the third set."
It was Serena's 309th major match win, two more than Roger Federer, extending her all-time Open era record.