A fellow mom gave Serena Williams all she could handle at the US Open but it was the legendary American who battled to another comeback win to keep her hopes of tallying a record 24th Grand Slam title alive.
Williams overcame the varied game of Tsvetana Pironkova 4-6 6-3 6-2 in a thriller in New York to reach the semifinals at her home major for the 11th straight time.
Williams has erased deficits in her last three matches. She trailed by a set to 2017 champion Sloane Stephens in the third round and was behind 2-0 in the third set to Maria Sakkari -- who beat Williams at a warmup event preceding the US Open -- on Monday.
Afterwards Williams praised the performance of fellow mother Pironkova, saying: "It just shows me how tough moms are -- when you can birth a baby then honestly you can do anything.
"I could barely win a match when I came back, so she's incredible. You play a match and you go home and you're still changing diapers. It's like a double-life -- it's really surreal."