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Thursday hosts the women’s singles semifinals, as well as the semifinals in men’s doubles.
The women’s singles semifinals feature the two best WTA hard court Major players of the past seven years, who combined have won seven Slams on this surface. Each of them face an American who is looking to reach their second Major final.
In a rematch of last year’s US Open final, Aryna Sabalenka takes on Jessica Pegula. And a resurgent Naomi Osaka plays Amanda Anisimova, who upset Iga Swiatek on Wednesday.
Plus, the men’s doubles semifinals feature many Major champions, as well as an American Cinderella story.
In last year’s championship match, Sabalenka defeated Pegula in two tight sets, with each set decided by a score of 7-5. That’s one of three American hard court finals these players have contested within the last 13 months, and Aryna has taken them all in straights. Overall she leads their head-to-head 7-2, which includes seven straight-set victories for Sabalenka.
Jess has played Aryna closely, but when it gets to the end of sets, her inferior power doesn’t allow her much control over the outcome. So if Sabalenka plays relatively well, she should win again in this semifinal. However, there are three variables that could impact proceedings on Thursday night.
Aryna received a walkover in the last round, from an injured Marketa Vondrousova, so the defending champion hasn’t played a match since Sunday.
We’ve often seen how such a long layoff in the latter stages of a Major can negatively impact a player’s performance, as it throws off the rhythm of these creatures of habit.
And Sabalenka has suffered three stinging losses at Majors this year, all coming against Americans. It was Madison Keys in Melbourne, Coco Gauff in Paris, and Amanda Anisimova in London.
There has to be some doubt in Aryna’s mind following those upsets, and it will only grow when playing another American, especially considering the third variable not in Sabalenka’s favor: the New York crowd will firmly be supporting her opponent, and they often have a considerable influence over US Open matches.
Pegula did not come into this fortnight with much confidence, as she underperformed this summer following a shocking first-round loss at Wimbledon.
But she has played herself into form since this tournament began, advancing without dropping a set, which includes a strong 6-3, 6-3 victory in the last round over Barbora Krejcikova. So while Sabalenka remains the favorite, if Pegula isever going to defeat her in a big match, this may be her best opportunity.
