With American men Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton making it to the men’s singles semifinals at this year’s U.S. Open, the American women are determined not to be outdone.
No. 3 Jessica Pegula advanced Tuesday with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over fellow American Emma Navarro, the No. 26 seed. Her reward is No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, in the semifinals tonight (7 p.m.) at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The 32-year-old Pegula reached her career-high of No. 3 in the world in October 2022 and hit that ranking again this July. The match between Pegulla and Navarro is the first all-American women singles quarterfinals since Serena Williams faced her sister Venus Williams in 2015.
Yesterday, No. 4 seed Coco Gauff met up with No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia at Arthur Ashe in the quarterfinals with the winner moving on to the semis. On Monday, Gauff defeated 18-year old fellow American Iva Jovic, the No. 14 seed, in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. The victory placed the 22-year-old Gauff in her 12th career Grand Slam quarterfinals. Jovic became the youngest American to reach three Grand Slam fourth rounds in a single year since Venus Williams in 1998.
Naomi Osaka, one of the U.S. Open crowd’s favorites, had her run at this year’s tournament ended in the Round of 16 on Monday. The 2020 U.S. Open women’s singles champion was defeated by Elena Rybakina, the world’s No. 2 ranked women’s player, 1-6, 4-6.
“I think I am happy I’m taking losses differently” said the 28-year-old Osaka regarding her emotional growth. “I’m trying to learn from them a lot more…But for me if I think about my life, my daughter is healthy. Everyone in my family is great. I had the opportunity to play this Slam. I got as far as I could. It’s only up from here I guess.”
