MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Serena Williams is still on track for an Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam title after beating ninth-seeded Johanna Konta 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The 35-year-old Serena Williams will next meet the No. 79-ranked, 34-year-oldMirjana Lucic-Baroni, who beat Karolina Pliskova in three sets earlier on Rod Laver Arena to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in nearly 18 years. Lucic Baroni lost that Wimbledon semifinal in 1999 to 22-time major winner Steffi Graf.
The 36-year-old Venus Williams set up a semifinal against fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe with a quarterfinal win the previous day. The Williams sisters were seeded No. 1 and No. 2 when they met in the 2003 Australian Open final. Serena Williams won the title, the first of her six in Australia. Venus Williams hasn’t returned to a final at Melbourne Park.