The US Open semi-finals take place in the women’s draw on Thursday night when the two matches are played out on the Arthur Ashe Stadium as we find out who will compete in the final of the last Grand Slam of the year on Saturday.
We have two of the top seeds in the tournament on show as well as a middle ranked seed and a player who is unseeded although that is only down to injury. The general feeling is we have four good players on show and they should deliver a good night of tennis.
Emma Navarro vs Aryna Sabalenka
The opening semi-final of the tournament looks to be the pick of them on paper as the Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka looks to make it into a second successive US Open final when she goes up against the New York star Emma Navarro.
Sabalenka will have previous history in the sort of occasion she is going to be in here because she faced Coco Gauff in the final here last year. She lost that match so she will be hoping history doesn’t repeat itself. The Belarusian has been incredibly good this fortnight. She has made it into the semi-final without dropping a set and she looks a worthy favourite but I just wonder if more pressure came on her shoulders when Iga Swiatek bit the dust on Wednesday evening. Navarro will certainly hope so and so do I because the American is my outright bet so I’m effectively on her at 25/1 to win this match given that I backed her at 50/1 to win before a ball was hit. There is no doubt that Navarro is playing good tennis. Whether she’s playing well enough to beat Sabalenka remains to be seen but the home star has won their only meeting on hard courts which was earlier in the year in Indian Wells. Sabalenka did win their French Open meeting since then but I don’t think clay is the Navarro strength. Navarro might need Sabalenka to have a poor serving day but that is possible. I’m happy to let my outright bet ride but I don’t need another bet here.
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Jessica Pegula vs Karolina Muchova
Someone is going to make a first Grand Slam final out of the other match when the other home player to make the last four, Jessica Pegula, faces a Karolina Muchova who will be competing in her second US Open semi-final in as many seasons.
Muchova had to undergo wrist surgery after she lost to Gauff in that last four clash last year so it is very much to her credit that she is back in the semi-final so soon on her return to the sport. One concern is she clearly had an upset stomach in the quarter final on Wednesday and she’ll need that to calm down to give of her best here. You fear there might be a comedown for Pegula in this match. She blitzed Iga Swiatek off the court on Wednesday night and although the world number one assisted the Pegula win with a barrage of unforced expectation, Pegula still beat her in the biggest match of her career. She now competes in a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time and has to back up that emotional win just over 24 hours later. I think the fact this is a home Grand Slam and the chance in front of her is so big will ensure the comedown isn’t the issue but nerves might be. If I knew Muchova was fully fit I would take her here but these two met last month in Cincinnati and it went to a deciding set. I wouldn’t be surprised if this does that so the best bet in this match might be over 21.5 games. If Muchova is fit then she isn’t going to let this chance go without a big fight. Pegula should be guaranteed to give her all too so this line looks low and if Muchova pulls out at any point we’ll be voided anyway. I’m happy to take the over.
Tips
Back J.Pegula vs K.Muchova – Over 21.5 games for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
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