Williams powers past China's Wang Qiang to reach US Open semis

NEW YORK - 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams of the United States eased past China's Wang Qiang in straight sets to reach the women's singles semifinals of the US Open on Tuesday.

Williams, a six-time US Open champion, exhibited a stunning display of form as she eased past 18th-seeded Wang 6-1, 6-0 in just 44 minutes. The victory is also Williams' 100th win at the US Open.

"It's really unbelievable. From when I first started here, I think I was 16, I didn't think I would ever get to 100. I didn't think I would still be out here," Williams said.

The 37-year-old American is seeking a 24th major title to match Australian legend Margaret Court's longstanding record.

"It feels good," Williams said of the one-sided match against Wang. "It feels like this is what I've been training for. This is how hard I've been working. It feels like, you know, hard work pays off when that happens."

The American was in devastating form from start to finish, hitting 25 winners to just ten unforced errors, and she never faced a break point.

Wang, who upset world number two Ashleigh Barty from Australia in the previous round, was left unable to replicate that form in the face of Williams' dominance. The Chinese number one did not hit any winners during the clash and lost all five of the break points she faced.

"I've been working on my speed, getting shots," Williams said. "I didn't give Wang too many chances in the match."

Williams was immediately in overwhelming form, firing winners at will to hold in the opening game, then quickly breaking Wang for a 2-0 lead. The American swiftly broke again for 4-0 while Wang finally held serve in the sixth game to save face.

But Williams continued to blast ruthless winners on both sides and took the first set at 6-1. After that, Williams never looked back en route to the bagel in the second set.

"I think she's really a great player. Yeah, just great. I don't know what to say," 27-year-old Wang said. "Her power, I cannot handle it. Just too much for me. And she gave me a lot of pressure. So it's not easy to play against her."

"I need to build my muscle, try to be more powerful. Just need to do more on everything.

"I think I did a really good job in the past two weeks. I lost the match, but I want to take positives from the tournament. I just talked to my coach. We are very positive with the future," Wang added.

Williams will now take on fifth seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in a semifinal battle between the two highest-seeded players remaining in the draw. Svitolina ousted Johanna Konta of Britain earlier on Tuesday.

Williams leads their head-to-head record 4-1, but Svitolina did win their most recent meeting, which was a shock upset at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro when Williams was world number one.

"Svitolina is obviously a fighter," Williams said. "She gets a lot of balls back. She doesn't make a lot of mistakes. She's one of those players that does everything really well. So I have to do everything well, too."