Battling flu, Serena Williams advances to French Open final

Serena Williams looked lethargic on Thursday, dropping the first set of her semifinal match against No. 23 Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland. Williams leaned heavily on her racket as Bacsinszky and the chair umpire discussed a call. She coughed incessantly, looking as though she was about to throw up during a second-set changeover.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, she came alive.

And as so many opponents have learned before, once Serena Williams comes alive, there is no stopping her. Williams prevailed with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win to advance to her third French Open final. She's taken the title in each of her previous final appearances in Paris.

The first set went quickly Thursday, Bacsinszky scoring the only break as she took the set 6-4.

At 2-2 in the second set, Williams held off five break points before succumbing. It looked like Bacsinszky had control of the match. They took their seats for the changeover, Williams coughing forcefully into a towel.

The announcers wondered why she wasn't calling for a trainer. They talked about how little professional tennis players can do to battle a common cold – anti-doping rules prohibit players from taking most medications. They can basically just drink tea and honey and hope for the best.

"I really thought I was going to lose... I really don't feel like playing the third set I'm so tired," Williams would later say. "I thought: if I’m going to lose, I might as well go for winners."

Whatever Williams coughed up during that short break, it changed everything. She came back out and broke Bacsinszky to even the set at 3-all.

She hit two powerful aces to close out the next game, and suddenly the 19-time Grand Slam champion was back on top, leading 4-3. A dominant overhand slam sealed the eighth game and the 5-3 set lead. It seemed the only medicine Williams needed was to hit a few winners. Her entire demeanor changed. She even started to look a bit energetic. Holding serve, she took the second set 6-3.

Trailing 1-0 in the third set, Bacsinszky took Williams to 40-15, earning a double break point and the chance to claw her way back into the match. But Williams wasn't having it, holding serve for the 2-0 lead. She quickly closed out the win, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

As soon as the match ended, any bursts of energy she had shown quickly disappeared. She looked completely exhausted.

"I don’t think I’ve ever been this sick," she said in her on-court TV interview. "I didn’t expect to win that, and I can’t believe I won."

Before this fortnight, Williams had not played back-to-back-to-back three setters in a Grand Slam since she was 17. To see her play four in a single tournament is almost unfathomable. But clay courts have never been her strong suit. She has won each of the other three Grand Slams at least five times. In Paris, she's only been to the semifinals three times before. This tournament, of any, is her nemisis.

After claiming the Australian Open title earlier this year, Williams now has a chance to be the first woman to win the first two slams in the same year since Jennifer Capriati did so in 2001. The last man or woman to complete the calendar-year Grand Slam – winning all four – was Steffi Graf in 1988.

To win her 20th Grand Slam title, Williams will have to defeat No. 13 Lucie Safarova. Williams is a perfect 8-0 against the 28-year-old Czech, who defeated No. 7 Ana Ivanovic to advance to her first Grand Slam final.

History is on Williams' side. The only thing that might stand in her way? The illness that nearly cost her the match on Thursday.

"I can't believe I won," Williams repeated. "I got the flu after my third-round match and I haven’t been getting better. Hopefully this is the worst and I’ll get better."

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Danielle Elliot is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact her at delliot@yahoo-inc.com or find her on Twitter and Facebook.