CoCo Vandeweghe, the lone American left on the women’s doubles side, advanced with partner Ashleigh Barty, to the US Open semifinals with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Dalila Jakupovic and Irina Khromacheva on Louis Armstrong Stadium. The oppressive heat conditions returned on Tuesday and the No. 13 seeds faced pressure from their opponents, saving four of five break points.
The road does not get any easier for the American and Aussie duo, who combined for a title in Miami in March over potential semifinal foes No. 1 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova. The other option? No. 7 seeds Elise Mertens and Demi Schuurs.
Earlier on Tuesday, No. 2 seeds Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic kept on rolling. They have yet to drop a set en route to the semifinals, defeating No. 6 seeds Lucie Hradecka and Ekaterina Makarova, 7-6, 6-2. The duo hit 27 winners and closed out the match in one hour and 30 minutes in oppressive heat on Day 9.
For Babos and Mladenovic, 2018 is already a season to remember. The pair claimed their first Grand Slam title as a team earlier this season at the Australian Open. The team previously reached the Wimbledon final in 2014.
The success on the court is reflected on paper. Back in July, Babos rose to the top of the doubles world, claiming the No. 1 ranking. Meanwhile, Mladenovic sits at No. 8.
The doubles kept going as expected on Armstrong with the all-Columbian team of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah defeating No. 15 seeds Rohan Bopanna and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 6-3, 6-4. The duo went a perfect two-for-two on break points while facing just one. Clean play yielded 25 winners to only six unforced errors. The No. 5 seeds, who reached the final in Cincinnati, are in their first US Open semifinals.
The final match of the day saw Americans Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren fall to No. 7 seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, 6-4, 6-2. The 2017 Wimbledon champions launched 29 winners to the hometown favorites' 16, overpowering the younger team.
With the unseeded team stumbling, America’s last remaining duo on the men’s side, Mike Bryan and Jack Sock, will play on Wednesday.
