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It started with 128 claimants, but now women have joined it. us open Has reduced to only four.
After almost two weeks of grueling action in the scorching heat New YorkSemi-finalists for the fourth and final have been confirmed Grand Slam Of 2023.
American teenager Coco Gauff will face Czech world No. 10 Karolina Muchova, while world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka will face local favorite Madison Keys.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the US Open women’s semi-finals.
Gauff and Muchova open the proceedings at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, followed by Keys and Sabalenka.
Viewers in the US can watch all the action on ESPN, while Sky Sports will broadcast the matches in the UK.
For those eagle-eyed fans, you may remember this specific match-up occurring recently.
Both of them had faced each other just three weeks ago in the final of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, in which Gauff won in straight sets and won the biggest title of her career.
Her victory in Ohio came amid the best form of Gauff’s blossoming tennis career, a momentum she continued at the US Open.
The American’s most recent performance at Flushing Meadows was another impressive performance, seeing her easily defeat Jelena Ostapenko for her 10th consecutive win.
This has been somewhat of a new tournament for Gauff, who looks a serious contender to win her first Grand Slam title, but she insists she is not getting ahead of herself.
“There’s still a lot of tennis left to play,” Gauff said. “I am still in the same mindset that I am at the beginning of the tournament. Earlier I used to think about the end, but right now, my mindset is such that I told myself that I still have two more weeks to play.
“At the moment, I feel emotionally fresh, which I think has been a problem in the past at Grand Slams. I would be emotionally exhausted.”
Muchova is seen as the underdog against Gauff, although she has shown great form recently, reaching a career-best ranking of 10th in the world.
The Czech, who lost in the French Open final at the start of the year, has lost only one set on her way to the semi-finals as she continues her extraordinary comeback after battling a series of injuries last year. Due to which his career was in danger.
“Mental strength… how would I describe it?” Muchova asked. “I always feel like I’m a pretty tough cookie in life. This helps in tennis. But yes, some days are better; Not for a few days.
She added: “I don’t really want to give away all the keys with the strategy. So I will just focus on myself. He is very athletic. She never gives up. Runs on every ball. Doesn’t make many mistakes. He has all the strokes.
Keys will face Sabalenka of Belarus in the day’s other semi-final, a clash between an American and a European player with the crowd behind.
No. 17 seed Keys is enjoying a revival in the tournament, having lost to Sloane Stephens in the final in 2017.
She has already defeated three seeded players on her way to reaching the semi-finals, most recently defeating Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the quarterfinals, as she continues to draw the home crowd to cheer her on to victory. Is.
“I think my mentality before matches has been very good. I’m probably trying to be a little more balanced emotionally,” Keys said on her US Open success after her win over Vondrousova.
It was her 26th career win over a top-10 player and sets up a massive clash against Sabalenka, who is currently the in-form player in women’s tennis, having not dropped a set en route to the semi-finals .
The Belarusian player reached her fifth consecutive Grand Slam semi-final by easily defeating Zheng Qianwen in the quarter-finals and continued her remarkable record in major quarter-finals – she has now won her first seven Grand Slam quarter-final matches, the second highest since Chris Evert. Is second in the all-time list. Amazingly, he won his first 48.
The 25-year-old will be crowned the new world No. 1 when the new rankings are released on Monday and Sabalenka is favorite to win her second title, after winning her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year. of the year.
She is the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams in a year and says she has learned a lot from her previous results.
“I had some really tough losses this year,” Sabalenka said. “But like I said, we’re not losing, we’re learning. I’m just gaining more experience and getting stronger.”