Australian Open Latest: Karolina Pliskova set up Osaka semi-final with Serena Win

Karolina Pliskova win over Serena Williams on Wednesday has brought Serena's bid to equal Margaret Court’s record 24 Grand Slam titles to an end. 

Pliskova who will now face Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open semi-finals emerged victorious over the American great with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win under the hot Melbourne sun.

Serena who had beaten world number one Simona Halep in the fourth round folded against the big-serving Czech seventh seed, who saved four match points before winning, this defeat means the 37-year-old's quest to equal Margaret Court’s record 24 Grand Slam titles will not be achieved in this tournament. Although Serena battled back from a set down and was leading 5-1 in the third, she went on to lose by throwing away the advantage with some poor serving and wild shots as frustrations bubbled to the surface.

The wait to match court's Grand Slam record continues after four failed attempts since her return from giving birth last year, she now have to wait till May's French open for her next chance of equalling the record.

In an interview after the match, the winner who deprived Williams of a US Open final rematch with Osaka said “She(Serena) was playing very well. Especially at the end of the second set, she went for her shots and she was aggressive, I played too passive. I was almost in the locker-room but now I am standing here as a winner. It is a very good feeling.”

This is Pliskova's only third semi-final at a major. Her previous appearance in the last four was at Roland Garros in 2017 and the US Open a year earlier, where she beat Williams before losing the final to Angelique Kerber.

She face up with a focused Osaka who brutally swept past Ukraine’s Svitolina in the next round.