Australian Open 2017 Women's Semi-Final: TV Schedule, Start Time, Live Stream

Venus Williams meets Coco Vandeweghe in the 2017 Australian Open semi-final on Thursday and could be joined by her sister, Serena.

No. 13 seed Venus booked her place with a straight-sets win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and will face the unseeded Vandeweghe at Rod Laver Arena.

Serena Williams must overcome the challenge of Johanna Konta in her quarter-final match on Wednesday if she is to edge closer to the chance of a potential sibling matchup in the final. 

One of Williams or Konta will play Karolina Pliskova or Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the second semi-final.

Here is the schedule for Thursday’s semi-final clashes:

Coco Vandeweghe vs. (13) Venus Williams
(5) Karolina Pliskova or Mirjana Lucic-Baroni vs. (9) Johanna Konta or (2) Serena Williams

Watch: Eurosport 1 (UK) and ESPN (U.S.)

Live Stream: Eurosport Player (UK), Sky Go (UK), WatchESPN (U.S.)

Thursday Replay Coverage: Eurosport 1 from 11:30 a.m. (GMT), Tennis Channel from 7 a.m. (ET)

Full Schedule: AusOpen.com

Venus Still Going Strong

The opening Grand Slam of 2017 has seen Venus Williams show a return to the form that made her such a dominant force in the women's game in the last decade.

Her 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory over Russia's Pavlyuchenkova was a hard-fought one and provided Williams with a record as the oldest women's semi-finalist in the tournament's Open era, per Ravi Ubha of CNN.

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Per the report, Williams' coach, David Witt, said the 36-year-old's comeback from the autoimmune disorder Sjogren's syndrome was to be admired.

Witt said, per Ubha, "It's crazy to think how long she has played. And she's still doing it at a high level. It's incredible. Part of that comes down to her fight and belief, how much she has in her heart—every time she goes out there, you never see her quit on a point, never see her tank a game or two, and that says a lot. It takes a lot out of someone to do that."

In fellow American Vandeweghe, Williams faces a player on her best Grand Slam run since reaching the 2015 Wimbledon quarters.

Vandeweghe knocked out defending champion and No. 1 seed Angelique Kerber in Round 4, and her demolition of French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, 6-4, 6-0, in the quarter-final, showed a player full of confidence in her game.

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

And she is clearly at home on faster courts.

Per the tournament's official website, the 25-year-old puts her current run down to growing up playing tennis in California, saying: "I think I definitely have a more true outlook on the court when it's a little bit faster. I mean, as long as it's a hard court and not a clay court, I'm pretty happy about it (smiling)."

Williams resurgence and Vandeweghe's emergence should make for an intriguing matchup. Both will view the encounter as a great opportunity to reach a Grand Slam final.

For Williams, in particular, despite being a seven-time Slam winner, she has yet to claim an Australian Open, but in a tournament of surprises, 2017 could provide an ideal finale for a player at the latter end of a stellar career.

Kin Cheung/Associated Press

In the bottom half of the draw, Serena Williams takes on Great Britain's Konta, the victor meeting either Pliskova or Lucic-Baroni on Thursday.

For Konta, the match against the No. 2 seed represents the biggest examination of her impressive early-season form. The pair have never faced each other on the court before.

Williams undoubtedly heads into the match as the favourite, but Konta has more than a fighting chance of pulling off the upset.

She has reached the quarter-final stage in seamless fashion, without dropping a set, as she looks to build on her win in the Sydney International with a first Grand Slam title.