We will find out who will compete in the US Open women’s final when the two semi-finals of the last Grand Slam of the year are played out on the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday evening when four ladies play out for the chance to have a shot at the trophy.
Four players who have all competed in a Grand Slam final head into battle on Thursday night looking to get back there and compete for what would be a first US Open title so we are guaranteed a couple of competitive matches.
Coco Gauff vs Karolina Muchova
We begin with a repeat of the Cincinnati final from three weeks ago when the second highest ranked American player Coco Gauff looks to emulate her win in that concluding game when she meets the Czech ace Karolina Muchova.
Gauff won that final in straight sets but there were mitigating circumstances which Muchova will play on here. The Czech player had gone three sets in every match she played that week and had the later semi-final the day before the final so she was entitled to be running on fumes. There is no physical advantage going into this match, or if there is it might belong to Muchova because Gauff played doubles on Wednesday which lasted 2h13 in the intense heat of the day. I don’t think that will have a factor but I would like it to because I’m on Muchova outright and she lands the place part of the bet if she comes through here. I’m expecting a tight match with a few points between them here but I like what I’ve seen from Muchova and feel she has beaten opponents playing better than Gauff has. My hunch is the Czech wins in three and I’d be perfectly happy with that from an outright perspective but this one to sit and cheer Muchova rather than get involved again for me.
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Madison Keys vs Aryna Sabalenka
The first semi-final promises to be a great game but the second one looks the pick of them as the former finalist Madison Keys looks to get back to her home Slam final when she meets the Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.
That win in Melbourne has clearly elevated both the status and the confidence levels of Sabalenka and she has absolutely cruised through this draw so far. She has dropped just 21 games in five matches and is yet to lose a set. The second set of her quarter final was the only time she has been taken beyond nine games in a set and the Belarusian is now 29-5 on a hard court this season. Keys has only dropped the one set in the tournament and the way she dispatched Jessica Pegula and Marketa Vondrousova speaks volumes of how well she is playing, although the latter was visibly struggling with an injury and her serve was so vulnerable. Keys isn’t going to get any soft play from Sabalenka and as with most matches she plays on a hard court I believe this match is on her racquet. There was a concern about the Belarusian in semi-finals but she put those to bed in Melbourne although she did lose in the last four at Wimbledon. That was her fifth loss in a Grand Slam semi-final but all of them have been in deciding sets with little between them. That is a concern if this goes a decider but having had a few extra hours to recover and playing the way she is I think the bet is to take the world number one in waiting to win this in straight sets, a result which has been the case in both her wins over Keys including at Wimbledon just eight weeks ago.
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