Iga Swiatek, the world’s top player, defeated American Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) on Wednesday to go to her first US Open semifinal.
After reaching the last four of a Slam for the third time in 2022, the French Open champion will compete against Aryna Sabalenka for a spot in Saturday’s final.
That contest will be challenging. Like tonight, there will be some strong hitting and quick serves, according to Swiatek.
There were 61 unforced errors and 13 serve breaks in Wednesday’s quarterfinal.
Being in the semifinals for the first time, Swiatek added, “means a lot.”
“I am thrilled since I worked so hard while maintaining minimal expectations.”
“It was a close game. It went to a tiebreak because I attempted to push her away, but she was exerting pressure on me.”
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To win the first set in 38 minutes, Swiatek overcame losing the first match break in the fifth game by scoring 16 of the following 18 points.
In the opening eight games of a chaotic second set, the eighth-seeded American and the 21-year-old Pole from Poland traded three service breaks each.
The winner of the French Open made the eighth break on a net chord, giving herself the chance to serve for the match.
Pegula, ranked eighth, rallied to remain in the match until a double fault on break point in the eleventh game gave Swiatek a second chance to go to the semifinals.
The top seed again fell short as Pegula secured the tenth break to force a tiebreak, which the Pole won to claim a third victory over the American this year.
