Australian Open 2021 Results: Tuesday Bracket Winners, Scores and Top Stats

Serena Williams dominated Simona Halep in the Australian Open quarterfinals Tuesday to keep the veteran on course for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.

The 39-year-old progressed to the 40th major semifinal of her career with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over the second-seeded Romanian, despite finishing with more unforced errors (33) than winners (24) during the match. 

However, the No. 10 seed was pleased with her showing against Halep. 

"I definitely think this was the best match I played in this tournament, for sure," Williams said. "Obviously I had to, going up against the No. 2 in the world so I knew I had to do better. And that's what I did, so I'm excited."

The American won the last five games to put Halep away and dropped just six games to the world No. 2.

The win sets Williams on a collision course with No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka.

"She's such a strong player on the court and she's such an inspiration person off the court," Williams added. "It's so good to see someone who is so inspiring when they do both things, whether they're doing their job or not doing their job."

Women's Results

No. 3 Naomi Osaka def. Su-Wei Hsieh, 6-2, 6-2

No. 10 Serena Williams def. No. 2 Simona Halep, 6-3, 6-3

Williams' win overshadowed Osaka's 6-2, 6-2 victory in which she outclassed Su-Wei Hsieh, winning 89 percent of her first serves.

Two years ago, the Taiwanese player threatened to oust Osaka in Melbourne after taking a 7-5, 4-1 lead. But the Japanese star showed the resiliency of a champion and hit back to win the match and, eventually, the whole tournament.

"I told myself just to be really intense from the beginning," Osaka said, per Joel Drucker of Tennis.com. "I felt like I knew what to expect and that I couldn't afford to be lazy with my footwork or anything."

The world No. 3 and Williams have played four times in their careers, splitting the series.

For both, though, their fifth match is one of great significance.

For Osaka, it is an opportunity to further establish herself as the queen of this generation of women's tennis; for Williams, it's a chance to prove age is merely a number, not a cap on excellence.

Men's Results

Aslan Karatsev def. No. 18 Grigor Dimitrov, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2

No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. No. 6 Alexander Zverev 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(6)

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic saw off the challenge of Alexander Zverev to advance to the 39th grand slam semifinal—his ninth at the Australian Open—of his career.

More impressive is the fact that the 33-year-old is progressing despite a much-publicized oblique injury, but he highlighted the coronavirus pandemic as a reason why many players were struggling for full fitness.

"The 14-day quarantine, people don't realize but I think the amount of injuries during this tournament show how much effect it has on the players' bodies. It's taken its toll unfortunately on all of us," Djokovic said.

Djokovic will face unseeded Aslan Karatsev in the semifinals, but he conceded his knowledge of the Russian is limited. "To be honest I haven't seen him play at all before the Australian Open," he said.

The 27-year-old continued his improbable run in the tournament Tuesday, knocking off No. 18 seed Grigor Dimitrov, 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(6).

"Of course, I'm really surprised that I'm here. I'm just going to keep playing each match," Karatsev told Eurosport.

For the fairy tale to continue, he will have to do what no player has done since 2018: beat Djokovic in the Australian Open.