Venus Williams defeats Petra Kvitova; Pablo Carreno Busta makes maiden US Open semis
Photos from Day 9 action at the US Open that saw Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens and Pablo Carreno Busta enter the semi-finals
)
Venus Williams, of the United States, celebrates after defeating Petra Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (2) in the quarter-final at the US Open. With this win, Williams breaks into the Top 5 for the first time since 2011 and reaches the semi-final for the first time since 2010. AP
Williams shakes hands with Kvitova after their marathon match that played out for 154 minutes. Williams acknowledged the crowd in the on-court interview and said, "I felt every single of you here, all 23,000 of you. I didn't want to let you down." Reuters
Sloane Stephens, of the United States, reacts after beating Anastasija Sevastova, of Latvia, during the quarter-final of the US Open. She beat the Latvian 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) in a 148-minute encounter to enter her first US Open semi-final and her second semi-final overall after the 2013 Australian Open. AP
It was an emotional match for both the players who returned from career-threatening injuries. While Stephens is back from a major foot injury that saw her out of action for a year, Sevastova took nearly two years off with back and muscle injuries. Reuters
In the first men's quarter-final Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta celebrates after winning his match against Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. This victory puts Pablo Busta for the first time in a Grand Slam semi-final. Reuters
Busta defeated Schwartzman in straight sets and is the only player to have reached the semi-final of the 2017 US Open without dropping a set. Reuters