By Karl Plume and Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Jessica Pegula ousted top seed Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals to continue the rich vein of American success at the U.S. Open on Wednesday while men’s world number one Jannik Sinner beat Daniil Medvedev to book his spot in the semi-finals.
Pegula took advantage of an error-strewn performance from Swiatek to book a spot in her maiden Grand Slam semi-final 6-2 6-4, while Sinner prevailed 6-2 1-6 6-1 6-4 to reach the last four at Flushing Meadows for the first time.
The losses for Swiatek and Medvedev ensured that the U.S. Open will crown two new champions this year.
Sinner will face Jack Draper for a spot in a second Grand Slam final after the British surprise package earlier stunned hobbled Australian Alex de Minaur 6-3 7-5 6-2 to become the first British man to reach the semis since 2012.
Pegula, who had lost six previous Grand Slam quarter-finals, will take on Karolina Muchova after the unseeded Czech beat Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1 6-4 in the day session at Arthur Ashe stadium despite battling a “bug”.
“I’m really happy to be through to the semi-finals,” said Pegula, who joined male compatriots Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe at the business end of the tournament.
“I thought I played a really clean match. I feel like I didn’t really do anything that bad, and was able to kind of jump on her really early and I think frustrate her.”
Swiatek, the 2022 champion, could not claim the same as she suffered service issues in the opening set and made 41 unforced errors over the match.
The Pole’s struggles with her serve started early and Pegula took full advantage to race out to a 4-0 lead in the first set.
Swiatek looked sharper as she broke Pegula early in the second set but was unable to regain momentum with the sixth seeded American breaking back and going on to take the win.
“I didn’t really understand why my serve wasn’t working,” Swiatek lamented.
“It was hard for me to find, like, a proper solution for that. Today I just made too many mistakes.”
Mistakes also plagued 2021 champion Medvedev, who made 57 unforced errors over a topsy-turvy match against top seed Sinner.
The Russian failed to capitalise on the momentum he gained by winning the second set, losing five games straight in the third before handing Sinner a break in the fourth with an unforced error.
“It was strange the first two sets because whoever made the first break started to roll,” said Sinner, who beat Medvedev in the Australian Open final this year before losing to him in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
“It was very tough… we knew it would be very physical,” Sinner added.
‘ACCUMULATION OF MATCHES’
Draper powered into his first Grand Slam semi-final without having dropped a set in the tournament, having earned his first career victory over 10th seed De Minaur.
The Australian battled to find his range from the start and was broken early, setting the tone for the match as he racked up the unforced errors.
The Australian broke to level the second set at 4-4 only to see Draper break in the 11th game before consolidating to seize a 2-0 lead in the match.
Draper’s power and precision in the third set wore down De Minaur, who has been struggling with a hip issue since Wimbledon.
“The way he can spread the court, being a lefty and really move you around the court, it takes a toll on the body,” De Minaur said. “Accumulation of matches takes a toll as well.”
Not since Andy Murray won the title in 2012 has Britain had a representative in the men’s singles semi-finals at the U.S. Open.
“I feel the best fitness-wise I’ve been in a long, long time and I think that’s where Alex has sort of got me in the past,” said Draper.
In the day’s opening match, Muchova continued her renaissance after a long injury layoff in the wake of an operation on a wrist injury she sustained last year at Flushing Meadows.
In only her sixth tournament back on tour, Muchova looked sharp early on as she grabbed a 4-0 lead over Haddad Maia before taking the opening set.
The Brazilian improved in the second set and the players exchanged breaks before Muchova, after having the physio and doctor at her chair, held to reach 5-3 before taking advantage of new balls and sealing victory with an ace.
“I think I played good in the key points, meaning when I had a breakpoint or I was serving for a game, I always pulled out a good shot, I think,” Muchova said. “I’m happy that I managed it in two sets again.”
“I’m fighting (a) bug a little bit. I’m a little sick. I hope it didn’t disturb anyone.”
(Reporting by Karl Plume in New York, additional writing by Chiranjit Ojha; Editing by Toby Davis and Peter Rutherford)
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