Kim Clijsters' remarkable return to Grand Slam tennis shows no sign of coming to end after she moved into the semi-finals.
The Belgian, playing just her third tournament since coming out of a two-year period of retirement, beat China's Li Na 6-2 6-4 at Flushing Meadows.
In doing so she became the first mother to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since Yvonne Goolagong did so en route to the Wimbledon title in 1980.
Whether Clijsters can emulate the Australian and lift the trophy here remains to be seen - next up for her will be a meeting with title favourite Serena Williams.
Clijsters, conqueror of Venus Williams in the previous round, drew first blood with a break of serve in the third game on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
While Clijsters was continuing her high level of play, Li was simply making too many errors and she was soon a double break down and the Belgian served out to claim a one-set lead after just 25 minutes.
Another wayward shot from Li handed Clijsters an immediate break in the second set and the Chinese then saved two break points to prevent herself falling a double break down.
That seemed to give Li some confidence and for the first time in the match she began to trouble her opponent.
She broke back to level the set at 3-3 and Clijsters must have had some concerns when she stepped up to serve at 3-4.
However, the former world number one steeled herself and Li fell back into trouble in the ninth game when she slipped to 0-40.
The Chinese saved two of the break points but went long on the third to leave the 2005 champion serving for the match.
And another unforced error - Li's 41st of the contest - saw Clijsters clinch victory in just 63 minutes.
What pleased Clijsters most was the way she was able to back up her victory over Williams.
"I have a really good feeling the way I stayed focused after the Venus match," she said. "I think that's something that I learned from the past, that experience that I have when you beat big players, not to get carried away and just refocus on a match like today.
"For the quarter-final it was a pretty good draw, but it was still a tough
opponent to beat. So I knew that I had to play well, and I'm glad that I did."
Serena Williams booked her place against Clijsters in the last four by beating Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-3 in their quarter-final.
The defending champion moved into the semis by comprehensively outclassing the 10th seed.
Serena's serve played a significant part in her victory as she hit seven aces and finished with an 86% first serve success.
The American is now relishing a showdown with Clijsters.
Williams said: "She is such a great person and I only wish the best for her - though not in the next match of course.
"It will be a great match. She has nothing to lose and is having so much fun, which makes me so happy.
"Initially I was surprised how well she's been doing but she did so well a couple of weeks ago that I knew she was someone to look out for."
Source : Star Sports
US Open : Women's Day Nine Roundup
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