Australian Open 2019 Results: Wednesday Bracket Winners, Scores and Top Stats

Novak Djokovic reached the semi-finals of the 2019 Australian Open on Wednesday after Kei Nishikori retired in the second set of their quarter-final.

Serena Williams failed to make it to the final four in the women's draw, though, as she was knocked out in three sets by seventh seed Karolina Pliskova.

Naomi Osaka and Lucas Pouille also progressed, at the expense of Elina Svitolina and Milos Raonic, respectively.

Men's Singles Results

(1) Novak Djokovic bt. (8) Kei Nishikori, 6-1, 4-1, ret.

(28) Lucas Pouille bt. (16) Milos Raonic, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-4

Women's Singles Results

(7) Karolina Pliskova bt. (16) Serena Williams, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5

(4) Naomi Osaka bt. (6) Elina Svitolina, 6-4, 6-1

Recap

After going to five sets on three occasions in Melbourne, Nishikori could scarcely have wished for a worse opponent in the quarter-final than Djokovic, whom he had beaten just twice in 17 prior meetings.

The Serb's superiority quickly became apparent once again as he routed the Japanese player in the first set, though it was clear Nishikori was dealing with an injury:

The No. 8 seed quickly found himself 4-1 down in the second, and he opted to throw in the towel.

For Djokovic, the win marked an impressive feat, per tennis writer Gaspar Ribeiro Lanca:

Earlier, Pliskova and Williams faced off in a remarkable meeting. After battling back from a set down to force a decider in what had been a hard-fought contest for both players, the latter raced to a 5-1 lead in the third.

However, at match point, the American was hit with a foot fault before suffering an ankle injury.

The injury gave Pliskova an opening to rattle off six games in a row to secure the victory, but she'd had to save three more match points along the way.

As WTA Insider demonstrated, the seventh seed has been hitting much more cleanly in her last two matches compared with the earlier rounds:

Williams' search for her elusive 24th Grand Slam continues, but her record since making her Tour comeback remains impressive, per Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim:

Pliskova will take on Osaka as she bids to make her second Grand Slam final.

The U.S. Open champion made relatively short work against Svitolina in her quarter-final on Wednesday, but Pliskova has the slight edge with a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head record, so it could be a close-run match.