By Chris Oddo | Wednesday, March 18, 2015

 

Serena Williams snapped Timea Bacsinszky's 15-match winning streak to set up a semifinal clash with Simona Halep at Indian Wells.

Photo Source: Matthew Stockman/ Getty

With the WTA’s two longest active winning streaks meeting head-to-head on Wednesday evening at Indian Wells, something would have to give.

It wasn’t going to be Serena Williams.

The world No. 1 emerged emerged victorious after an entertaining tussle with Timea Bacsinszky, snapping the Swiss’s 15-match winning streak and running her own personal streak to 15, 7-5, 6-3.

Bacsinszky made inroads against Williams and lead by a break in each set, but a determined Williams would forge ahead each time.

The 33-year-old world No. 1, making her return to the desert after a well-documented 14-year hiatus, appeared to struggle with Bacsinszky’s varied and eclectic game, but despite a poor night from the service stripe, she broke the Swiss five times on seven opportunities to gain the upper hand.

“I'm just happy that I was able to get through that and still be alive in this tournament, when I haven't clearly been the Serena that we all know,” Williams told reporters after the match.

The loss was only the second for Bacsinszky in 12 three-set matches this season. Her record drops to 21-3.

Williams advances to the semifinals where she’ll encounter another red-hot player: Simona Halep. The American owns a 4-1 head-to-head advantage over Halep, but they split their last two meetings, which were both held at last year’s WTA Finals.