'Everything is a bit of a surprise' - Serena returns to Wimbledon SF

LONDON, Great Britain - Seven-time Wimbledon winner Serena Williams roared back from a set down to defeat the big-hitting Camila Giorgi, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, and reach her 11th semifinal at Wimbledon.

"Every time I play Giorgi, she always plays at a high level," Serena said during her off-court interview. "But she plays that level against everyone, so that's even more impressive that she always plays like that no matter who she plays. I knew going in, that it wouldn't be an easy match."

Serena was playing her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since winning a record-breaking 23rd major title at the 2017 Australian Open, marrying, and giving birth to daughter Alexia Olympia, and was given all she could handle before ultimately serving out the victory over the always dangerous Italian after one hour and 42 minutes on court.

"I think everything right now is a little bit of a surprise," she continued in press. "To be here, to be in the semifinals. I mean, I always say I plan on it, I would like to be there, have these goals. But when it actually happens, it still is, like, 'Wow, this is really happening.'"

Into her first career major quarterfinal, Giorgi enjoyed a confident start, outhitting the American by eight winners to six as she won the first set and opened up a 0-30 lead in the second game of the second.

"It's weird. Sometimes I feel, 'Man, I'm in trouble.' Sometimes I feel, 'I can fight.' For whatever reason, today I was so calm. Even when I was down the first set, I thought, 'Well, she's playing great. I'm doing a lot of the right things. It is what it is.'"

The 26-year-old Italian missed a crucial putaway that would have given her a pair of break point opportunities, and Serena steadied from there, breaking serve for the first time and leveling the match.

"I'm not tired at all. In fact, when I was out there today, I think that was one thing that was surprising, was how well I felt. Not once was I out of breath. Surely there wasn't a lot of long points, maybe that's why I wasn't out of breath."

Williams earned a crucial break early in the decider and held on for the next four games with the help of a vintage serving display, surging back into her first Wimbledon semifinal in two years and extend her Wimbledon winning streak to 19 straight, having won the title in her last two appearances in 2015 and 2016.

In all, she struck 24 winners to just nine unforced errors along with seven aces and an impressive 81% of points won behind her first serve.

"I feel good, like I did better today because I had to. This is only my fourth tournament back. I don't feel pressure, or like like I have to win this or lose it. I'm just here to prove that I'm back. I feel like I am but I still have a ways to go to be back where I want to be."

Standing between the former World No.1 and a spot in the final is No.13 seed Julia Goerges, whom Serena beat just three weeks ago in the third round of Roland Garros.

Goerges also recovered from a set down to beat 2016 Roland Garros semifinalist and 2018 Mutua Madrid Open runner-up Kiki Bertens, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.

"I played Julia in the French. That was four or five weeks ago. That doesn't matter. This is a whole new match, it's a new surface, it's everything. We're starting from zero.

"I'm going to go out there and just do what I can, do my best, see what happens."