Für unsere Gäste » Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc

NEW YORK -- Serena Williams serve was broken for the first time at this years U.S. Open. Twice, in fact. She dropped a set for the first time in the tournament, too, pushed to the brink by Simona Halep in the quarterfinals.In a match filled with fantastic shotmaking and enthralling exchanges, neither player budged until Williams righted herself in the third set to emerge with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Halep on Wednesday night to get back to the semifinals at Flushing Meadows.The No. 5 Halep, the 2014 French Open runner-up, was the first seeded player Williams faced in the draw.Im glad I got tested, Williams said. Her level really picked up in the second, but I had some opportunities that I didnt take. So what I gather from that is I really could have played better in that second set and maybe had an opportunity to win in straights. If anything, thats the biggest silver lining I take.Halep staved off all 12 break points held by Williams in the second set and forced a third.I wasnt very happy about that, but I tried not to let that get me down, Williams said about all the chances she let slip away. I tried to stay positive and I knew that if I did, I could just stay in the match.Right at the start of the third set, Halep held two break points at 15-40, but Williams came through to lead 1-0. Otherwise, Halep said, The story of the match would have been different.Instead, Williams converted the only break chance she would get -- or need -- in the deciding set to go ahead 3-1, and was on her way.She finished with 18 aces, a 50-20 edge in total winners, and won the point on 26 of her 32 trips to the net.Not bad for someone who entered the U.S. Open with questions about a sore right shoulder that began bothering her after she won Wimbledon in July.I dont really like coming to the net, to be honest, but Im good at the net, I guess, Williams said. I guess Ive got to do what Im good at.She is bidding for her seventh title at Flushing Meadows and 23rd overall at a major tournament -- both would be records for the Open era, which dates to 1968.A year ago in the semifinals, Williams attempt to finish off a calendar-year Grand Slam ended with a stunning loss to unseeded Roberta Vinci of Italy.Her opponent Thursday will be 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, who beat the 34-year-old Americans older sister, Venus, in the fourth round, then eliminated 18-year-old Ana Konjuh of Croatia 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the first major semifinal of her career.As good as Williams serve is, its Pliskova who leads the tour in aces in 2016.Williams, seeded No. 1, had held serve in 37 consecutive games over the past two weeks until Halep broke to get within 3-2 in the opening set. Still, Williams breezed through the rest of that set.Then came a pivotal segment of the second. Instead of trailing 3-0, which was nearly the case, Halep wound up ahead 3-1.First, she hung in there to erase seven break points -- yes, 7! -- in one game to hold for 1-all. Then she got to 15-40 on Williams serve, creating two break points that Williams made vanish with three aces in a row, at 117, 109 and 122 mph.Escape complete? Not quite. Then came two more break points, the last created by a huge Halep backhand that Williams tried in vain to get back with a desperation lefty shot. Williams second double-fault of the game followed, and Halep would need to save five more break points before finally cashing in on her fifth set point to send the match to set No. 3.Thats where Williams once again asserted herself, as she so often does.It was tough. Is tough, Halep said. Im a little bit sad.In Thursdays other semifinal, No. 2 Angelique Kerber plays two-time U.S. Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki. Kerber has a chance to end Williams record-tying string of 186 consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the WTA rankings.As Halep can attest, though, Williams does not relinquish anything easily.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Fake Dodgers Jerseys . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. A. J. Pollock Jersey . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. 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New Zealand tattoo artist Steve Butcher has been making his mark by traveling around the world to give sports fans the best tattoos.The latest from Butcher was inked in back-to-back sessions on the outer right arm of a Heat fan from Canada named Fiona Wong.The tattoo features Ray Allens famous corner 3-pointer in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. Allens shot with 5.2 seconds left forced overtime, and the Heat went on to win the game as well as Game 7.I personally think that the Ray Allen shot is the greatest shot in NBA history becaause of its significance and how it changed history, Wong told ESPN.dddddddddddd No one can predict how things wouldve been if Ray hadnt made that shot and the Spurs went on to win the title that year. Would LeBron [James] have left? Would Ray have retired?Wong said she paid about $2,800 for the tattoo, which took Butcher a total of 14 hours to complete.Butchers other NBA tattoos are equally as great. ' ' '