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NEW YORK -- The Latest on the U.S. Open (all times local):9:38 p.m.Serena Williams emerged from her toughest test yet at this years U.S. Open, edging Simona Halep 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 on Wednesday night to reach the semifinals.Halep, the 2014 French Open runner-up and seeded No. 5, was the first player to break Williams serve in the tournament and the first to take a set off the No. 1 seed.But after going 0 for 12 on break points in the second set, Williams righted herself, broke on her first opportunity of the third to go ahead 3-1, and was on her way. She finished with 18 aces.Williams is bidding for her seventh title at Flushing Meadows and 23rd overall at a major tournament, which both would be records for the Open era, which dates to 1968.A year ago in the semifinals, Williams attempt to finish off a calendar-year Grand Slam ended with an upset loss to unseeded Roberta Vinci.Williams opponent Thursday will be 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, who beat the 34-year-old Americans older sister Venus in the fourth round.---9:20 p.m.American girls are making a strong statement in the U.S. Open junior tournament, taking 10 of the final 16 spots. Thats the most girls from the United States to make it into the third round since the draw of that event expanded to 64 in 1984.The American group is led by fourth-seeded Amanda Anisimova, a 15-year-old who was a French Open junior finalist.You have so many up-and-coming young women already on the tour, and then to see this wave of great junior girls coming behind them is really, really encouraging, said Martin Blackman, the U.S. Tennis Associations player development manager.---9:05 p.m.Serena Williams and Simona Halep are heading to a third set in their U.S. Open quarterfinal.Williams, seeded No. 1 and seeking her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title, took the opening set 6-2 on Wednesday night despite being broken for the first time in the tournament.The No. 5-seeded Halep then saved seven break points in the second game of the second set, and broke Williams in the very next game to lead 2-1. Eventually, after saving all 12 break points she faced in that set, Halep grabbed it 6-4 on her fifth set point.That is the first set Williams has lost in five matches at Flushing Meadows this year.---7:50 p.m.A first-round U.S. Open womens singles match will be looked into by tennis anti-corruption organization because of possible irregular betting patterns.Tennis Integrity Unit spokesman Mark Harrison said Wednesday that 15th-seeded Timea Bacsinszkys 6-1, 6-1 victory over Vitalia Diatchenko last week is the only match that has been the subject of an alert at Flushing Meadows this year.U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said the tournament is aware of the betting alert and that the TIU is handling the mattter.Widmaier added that betting alerts need to be investigated, but they are certainly not gospel and do not necessarily indicate any nefarious doings.The New York Times first reported on the alert to the TIU.---6:15 p.m.The U.S. Tennis Association says a digital audio sound processor at court level malfunctioned during the U.S. Open quarterfinal between Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori.The second-ranked Murray dropped seven consecutive games after a let call caused by a loud noise from the malfunctioning equipment during a fourth-set point and lost to Kei Nishikori 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 on Wednesday.Murray disagreed with chair umpire Marija Cicaks decision to immediately halt things when play was interrupted by a sound similar to that of a gong being struck. It happened with Murray already up two sets to one and holding a second break point at 1-all in the fourth.Murray complained about the ruling right away, gave away the next three points to lose the game, then brought it up again with Cicak at the ensuing changeover, saying something similar had happened earlier without a re-do of the point.The USTA says the malfunctioning unit will be replaced between Wednesdays day and night sessions.---6:10 p.m.Andy Murray dropped seven consecutive games after a let call caused by a loud noise in the arenas speaker system during a fourth-set point and lost to Kei Nishikori 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.Murray, the No. 2 seed and 2012 champion at Flushing Meadows, disagreed with chair umpire Marija Cicaks decision to immediately halt things when play was interrupted by a sound similar to that of a gong being struck. It happened with Murray already up two sets to one and holding a second break point at 1-all in the fourth.Murray complained about the ruling right away, gave away the next three points to lose the game, then brought it up again with Cicak at the ensuing changeover, saying something similar had happened earlier without a re-do of the point.Nishikori was the 2014 runner-up at Flushing Meadows.---5:05 p.m.Andy Murray was bothered by the chair umpires decision to call a let on a loud noise that came from the stadiums speaker system and now finds himself headed to a fifth set against Kei Nishikori in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.Murray led two sets to one -- 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 -- and held break points at 1-all in the fourth Wednesday. But during that second break chance, the point was interrupted by a noise something akin to a gong being struck. Chair umpire Marija Cicak immediately halted play. Murray complained about that right away, then again at the ensuing changeover, when he also spoke to a tournament supervisor.He wound up losing 12 of 14 points right after the let call and five games in a row to drop that set 6-1.---1:20 p.m.Karolina Pliskova dominated with her serve to roll past 18-year-old Ana Konjuh and into the U.S. Open semifinals.The 10th-seeded Pliskova won 6-2, 6-2 in just 57 minutes Wednesday, losing only one point on her serve in the first set. Shell face No. 1 Serena Williams or fifth-seeded Simona Halep on Thursday.The 24-year-old Czech came into the U.S. Open with the distinction of being the only woman in the top 20 to never reach a Grand Slam round of 16. Now shes blown past that milestone, riding the momentum of a breakthrough title at Cincinnati, where she beat second-ranked Angelique Kerber in the final.The 92nd-ranked Konjuh hadnt been past the third round at a major before this tournament. Also a big server, she had more aces than Pliskova on Wednesday, but she was broken four times and made 27 unforced errors.---12 p.m.The last spots in the U.S. Open semifinals will be decided Wednesday, with Serena Williams, Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro seeking to keep their dominant runs going.The top-seeded Williams, who hasnt lost a set or had her serve broken in the tournament so far, faces No. 5-seeded Simona Halep. Williams has won seven of their last eight meetings.The other womens quarterfinal pits two women whove never been this far before at a Grand Slam tournament: 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic and 92nd-ranked Ana Konjuh of Croatia.On the mens side, four of the tours best hard-court players meet in the last two mens quarterfinals, with the No. 2-seeded Murray facing No. 6 Kei Nishikori in the afternoon, and No. 3 Stan Wawrinka taking on del Potro at night. 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Balenciaga Sale Ireland . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. What do you need to know about last nights big stories? Joe McDonald gives us his take on the biggest and best.Give Hamilton a break: The Calgary Flames continue their rollercoaster season while trying to adjust to a new style of play. But the Flames top players need to get going. It doesnt help that dynamic forward Johnny Gaudreau is sidelined with a broken finger. Calgary earned a point in a 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Monday, but Im most interested in Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton. His name has been churning through the trade-rumor mill but it would be a huge mistake for the Flames to move the 23-year-old blueliner. Despite his 6-foot-6, 210-pound frame, Hamilton has been playing scared -- some evaluators are saying hes playing soft -- and inconsistently. But theres no denying his athleticism. After struggling last season, his game has improved. Hes still trying to develop into a dominant two-way defender. Hes still young and by the time he reaches his mid-20s, he is capable of being one of the elite defenseman in the league. He should be part of teams core group for a long time, so dont give up on him.Niemi should be the man: Dallas Stars goaltender Antti Niemi saw a solid performance go for naught -- again. Despite a 27-save performance, the Stars lost 4-3 in overtime to the St. Louis Blues on Monday. Niemi had no chance on the overtime goal by the Blues Vladimir Tarasenko. Overall, thheres too much inconsistency between Niemi and fellow goalie Kari Lehtonen.dddddddddddd The tandem has split the games almost evenly this season and thats become a problem in Dallas. Most times, Im all for having two No. 1 goalies. However, in the Stars situation, I want to see one goalie as the main guy for the majority of the season and Niemi should be it. If he can get on a roll, and the team in front of him can deliver, it will boost Niemis confidence. That would be especially important for the Stars postseason hopes.McDavid vs. Matthews rematch: After 13 games without a goal, 19-year-old Auston Matthews has three goals -- including his first game-winner on Saturday against the Washington Capitals -- in his last two games and five points in the last four. These types of ebbs and flows are expected for a first-year player, but hes still a stud. Opponents are focusing on him but he will develop into a franchise player and will eventually be right behind the Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid in scoring for years to come. On Tuesday, the pair of phenoms face each other for the second time this season. Neither player recorded a point during Torontos 3-2 victory on Nov. 1 at Air Canada Centre. No matter, because any time these two are on the ice at the same time, fans should pay attention. ' ' '