New York: Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki defeated No. 10 Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 7-6 (5) on Thursday to set up a semi-final match-up against Serena Williams at the US Open.
Wozniacki let a 5-3 lead slip in the second set and wound up in a tie-breaker, but Petkovic made five unforced errors in the breaker and couldn't complete the comeback.
Wozniacki, who has been ranked No. 1 for most of the last year, has yet to win a Grand Slam title. She is seeking a spot in her second Grand Slam final, but will have to get past Williams to do it.
This will be Wozniacki's first match against Williams since the 21-year-old Dane became No. 1 - an opportunity for Wozniacki to prove she belongs atop the rankings despite not having won a Major championship.
Not that she's concerned with that.
"I don't care what people think and say or do," Wozniacki said. "I care about what I know best. I go out there, and what I care about is that I give 100 percent every time."
The top-seeded player was put out on Court 13 after the court inside Louis Armstrong Stadium was deemed unplayable. Wozniacki followed Andy Roddick onto the outside court, which seats fewer than 600 spectators.
Earlier, Williams struggled with her serve in the first set before finding the range to score a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia to reach the last-four stage and improve to 17-0 on hard courts this season.
The three-time champion lost serve three times in the opening set as the first six games went against serve, before the American got on track, breaking the 17th-seeded Russian in the 12th game to end the opening set.
"I just kept losing serve in the beginning. Very weird," said Williams, whose older sister Venus watched from the stands.
13-time Major champion Williams, who has yet to lose a set, got on a roll after that, losing just three points on serve in the second set and ending the 79-minute match with her sixth ace.
"I had a few errors in the beginning," Williams told the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd after the quarter-final. "But I'm happy that I'm through and I'm really excited."
The 29-year-old American was playing just her sixth tournament this year after being sidelined by injuries and health concerns.
She was joined by a jubilant Sam Stosur, who is on the other side of the draw. The Australian demolished world number two Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3 and is lurking as the biggest threat to Williams.
Stosur, who survived two epic three-set matches to reach the quarter-finals for the second straight year, extended her winning streak over Zvonareva to eight matches with an impressive display of hitting.
Zvonareva, who was the runner-up at the US Open and Wimbledon last year, had no answer to Stosur's powerful serve as she become the first Australian woman to reach the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows since Wendy Turnbull in 1984.
The No. 9 Stosur will next play 92nd-ranked Angelique Kerber of Germany in the semi-finals.
Kerber upset No. 26 Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, after never previously making it past the third round of a Grand Slam tournament.
Kerber lost in the first round of her last four Major tournaments. The 23-year-old lefty is projected to earn a top-35 ranking for the first time in her career.
Pennetta, seeded 26th, has never been past the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam. This is the third time the 29-year-old Italian has lost at that stage at the Open.
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