New York, Sep 9 (IANS): World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and three-time champion Serena Williams set up an exciting semifinal at the US Open after they posted convincing wins in the quaterfinals here Thursday.
Vera Zvonareva, last year's runner-up and the No. 2 seed, succumbed to Australian Samantha Stosur 3-6, 3-6 in another quarterfinal.
Wozniacki got past 10th-seed German Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 7-6 (5) in 1 hour and 40 minutes, including a hard-fought 73-minute second set.
The Dane broke Petkovic six times, compared to three breaks for the German, who reached the quarterfinals at three of the four Grand Slam events this year.
The 21-year-old Wozniacki will challenge Williams for the third time and is seeking her first ever win over the mighty American. The two stars haven't met since the 2009 season.
The 28th-seed Williams overpowered 17th-seed Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-1 and ended the contest with her seventh ace.
Williams broke the young Russian six times and Pavlyuchenkova piled up 31 unforced errors en route to the predictable defeat.
"I think Caroline is a very consistent player," Williams was quoted as saying Xinhua. "I think both consistent on the court and in playing tournaments and doing well and winning tournaments. That is pretty much what it takes to be the best."
The 29-year-old Williams has 13 major titles in her kitty, including a trio of US Open victories.
Serena is currently riding a 17-match overall winning streak including titles in Stanford and Toronto.
Ninth-seed Stosur beat Zvonareva for an eighth straight time. Stosur fired 25 winners, compared to only nine for the Russian. The Australian converted three of four break points, while Zvonareva was unable to get even a break point.
"When you are playing well, it just kind of flows," said Stosur. "You step up to the line and you play the next point and the next one and the next one. Happy to close it out in straight sets."
Stosur was last year's French Open runner-up, while Zvonareva lost in last year's US Open and Wimbledon finals.
The 27-year-old Stosur will now appear in her third career Grand Slam semifinal and her first-ever here at the Flushing Meadows.
She will play 92nd-ranked German Angelique Kerber Saturday.
The 23-year-old Kerber got past Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to enter her maiden grand slam semifinal.