The seeded n ° 6, Jessica Pegula, amaze Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals of the United States on Wednesday evening, hitting the fourth ticket for an American in the semi-finals of the tournament.
With the victory, Pegula qualified for the semi-finals of a Grand Chelem tournament for the first time in his career. There, she will join her American colleagues Emma Navarro, Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz. She will face Karolína Muchová on Thursday at the Arthur Ashe stadium.
Navarro – Remed 13th – will face the seeded n ° 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi -final of other women. Thursday winners will go to the championship match on Saturday.
On the male side, Tiafoe and Fritz will compete in a semi-final match on Friday, guaranteeing an American berth in the championship round, a first in a big slam since 2009. The seeded n ° 1 Jannik Sinner, while waiting , will be facing No. 25. Seed Jack Draper in the male semi-final after having beaten the n ° 5 Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Pegula in control from the start
Pegula took control of the first set of the opening match and did not drop. She won the first match on the Swiatek service, handing over to 26 games to 26 games. Swiatek had not been broken before since his opening victory over Kamilla Rakhimova.
During the second swiatek service, Pegula did it again. She obtained her second break from the opening to take a 3-0 lead. She maintained control of her own service and did not allow a break to the 6-2 victory. The whole took 36 minutes to finish and saw Swiatek commit 18 uncomposed mistakes. When it was done, Pegula took their place on his bench and gave a subtle hand pump.
Swiatek withdrew into the locker room, where she took a long break between the sets. When she returned to the courtyard, she had changed her colorful kit to wear all white.
Swiatek was the first to serve again in the second set. This time, she held. But Pegula broke him again during his second service to take a 2-1 lead. Swiatek returned the break to attach the whole to 2-2 before Pegula again grasped control with a break to take a 4-3 lead. She forced three points of break in the match, then attracted a standing ovation of her fans in the Arthur Ashe stadium stands after forcing Swiatek to hit largely to secure the break.
Swiatek did not break. With the match on his racket leading 5-4, Pegula delivered his third match point for the biggest victory of his career.
‘Finally’ a semi-finalist
Pegula had already reached the quarter -final in seven Grand Colem tournaments without progress. She spoke of her breakthrough with ESPN after Wednesday’s victory.
“I have been so long and I continued to lose,” said Pegula. “But for the big players – to the girls who continued and won the tournament. I know everyone asks me about it. But I said to myself:” I don’t know what else to do. Need to go back and win it. ‘
“Thank goodness, I was able to do it. And finally, finally I can say semi-finalist.”
Pegula’s victory improved his career record against Swiatek at 6-4 and refused Swiatek a shot in his sixth Grand Colem Championship in a career. Swiatek won US Open 2022 and is a quadruple winner at the French Open. Swiatek has entered the Wednesday match guaranteed to maintain its world n ° 1 ranking, whatever the result.
Pegula will not have much time to revel in the upheaval. On Thursday, she is expected to face Muchová in the semi-finals at the Arthur Ashe stadium. Navarro – Remed 13th – will face the seeded n ° 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi -final of other women. Thursday winners will go to the championship match on Saturday.
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