US Open Tennis 2016: TV Schedule and Women's Semifinal Predictions

Serena Williams is back in the semifinals of the U.S. Open.

She is hoping that her meeting with Karolina Pliskova on Thursday will go better than her match with Roberta Vinci did a year ago.

Williams was going for the calendar-year Grand Slam in last year's national championship after winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. All that stood in the way of her playing for the U.S. Open was the lightly regarded Italian player.

Most thought Williams would win in overpowering fashion with her dominating serve and consistent groundstrokes. However, Vinci refused to be intimidated, and the longer she hung in there, the tighter Williams got. It ended with Williams losing in three sets.

Williams won't get a chance for redemption against Vinci—she was eliminated by No. 2 seed Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals—but she can move forward if she can get the best of the 10th-seeded Czech player.

Williams may have already had her scare of the 2016 tournament, as she was extended to three sets by fifth-seeded Simona Halep Wednesday. After Williams took the first set by a 6-2 margin, it looked like she would have an easy quarterfinal victory.

Match	Time (ET)	Court	TV	Prediction
Serena Williams (1) vs. Karolina Pliskova (10)	7 p.m.	Arthur Ashe	ESPN	Williams
Angelique Kerber (2) vs. Caroline Wozniacki	9 p.m.	Arthur Ashe	ESPN	Kerber

However, Halep showed her best form and took the second set by a score of 6-4, using a 22-point final game to clinch the set.

But Williams bounced back in the third set and won it by a 6-3 margin. Her overpowering serve was the difference. While Williams was broken once in the first set and again in the second, she would not lose on her serve in the third set. 

"I knew that I could play a lot better," Williams said after the win (h/t USA Today's Nick McCarvel). "I lost my rhythm in the second set. I knew that I had to step it up in the third set."

The big problem for Williams going into her semifinal match will be a lack of rest. She will play Pliskova at 7 p.m. ET, and that's about 21 hours after she left the court following her win over Halep.

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

After Williams and Pliskova play their match, Kerber will face unseeded Caroline Wozniacki in the second semifinal.

While Kerber has the opportunity to replace Williams as the top-ranked player if she can win the U.S. Open, Wozniacki's success has been stunning.

She needed three sets to beat Taylor Townsend in the first round, but she won the following four matches in straight sets. She hammered Anastasija Sevastova in the quarterfinals, 6-0, 6-2.

Wozniacki lives in New York, and she feels she has something of a home-court advantage in the U.S. Open.

"I definitely do feel like I have an advantage here—I sleep at home in my own bed, have home-cooked food and have my friends and family here," Wozniacki told Marc Berman of the New York Post. "The crowd is always supporting me and is sweet to me, and it helps I've played here in the past."

She will have to play her best tennis to get the best of Kerber, who defeated Vinci, 7-5, 6-0. Kerber has won all five of her matches in straight sets.

Predictions

Williams did not panic after losing the second set to Halep, and that represents progress. She faced a crisis in the quarterfinals, and while Pliskova is a tough opponent, Williams is going to make the most of her opportunity. She will beat Pliskova in straight sets and advance to the championship round.

Wozniacki has come out of the blue to earn her way into the semifinals. She is not squeaking by in these matches, either. She is hammering her opponents convincingly, and she is good enough to press Kerber.

Don't be surprised if Wozniacki wins a set. However, Kerber is a relentless warrior herself, and she will find a way to win the match and earn a spot in the finals against Williams.