Serena Williams marked another milestone Wednesday, punching her semi-final ticket at the Miami Masters with her 700th career match win, a 7-6 (7/4), 1-6, 6-3 triumph over Sabine Lisicki.
Williams will face a familiar foe for a place in the final, taking on popular Romanian Simona Halep, a 6-1, 7-5 winner over Sloane Stephens.
After a sluggish start, Williams went on to secure the first set in a tiebreak and then broke her 27th-seeded opponent in the opening game of the second set before falling apart.
Lisicki’s precise and intelligent play took advantage of a series of unforced errors from Williams as the German won six consecutive games to force a decisive set.
But Williams, the two-times defending Miami champion, quickly rediscovered her form and broke to get a 3-0 lead and held firm for the win.
Williams is the eighth player in WTA history to record 700 match wins, putting her in an exclusive club that is led by Martina Navratilova (1,442).