World number one Serena Williams reached the semi-final in the French Open on Thursday after defeating the unseeded Yulia Putintseva. In the last four she will play Kiki Bertens who defeated eight seed Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets.

Serena Williams was given a severe test by Yulia Putintseva, the American is trying to win her 22nd Grand Slam title and equal Steffi Graf's record.
The champion was in deep trouble after an error-strewn start that saw the 34-year-old drop the first set to her opponent from Kazakhstan.
The American began to rally in the second and raced to a 4-0 lead. And Although the Kazakh hit back to level at 4-all, Williams held on to take the set and finally began to exert some control over her opponent.
She surged into a 5-0 lead in the decider, only for Putintseva to show defiance by saving three match points before finally succumbing. It was a less than convincing performance from Williams, who will need to quickly improve when she plays Kiki Bertens in the last four on Friday.
Bertens was up against Timea Bacsinszky - and despite looking under threat in the opener eventually managed to take it 7-5 set after some inconsistency from both players saw them struggle to hold serve.
The Dutchwoman then broke quickly in the second set to race to a 4-0 lead over her resilient opponent. Although Bacsinszky fought hard to stay in the match, Bertens finished the job with a backhand winner on her second match point to book a semi-final place at Roland Garros.