WHAT HAPPENED: Two good friends stepped inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday, but only one could emerge as a first-time Grand Slam semifinalist.
That woman was No. 13 seed Belinda Bencic, who followed up a Round of 16 upset of defending champion and world No. 1 Naomi Osaka with a 7-6, 6-3 win over No. 23 seed Donna Vekic to move into the final four at the US Open.
The Swiss, who first reached the US Open quarters five years ago as a prodigious 17-year-old, broke Vekic when she served for the first set before winning a tiebreak, and won the last four games of the match to seal her personal milestone in one hour and 42 minutes.
In some ways, Bencic, one of the WTA's elite counterpunchers, had the perfect preparation for her second Open quarterfinal by deftly directing Osaka's booming groundstrokes around the court for her third win over the Japanese in 2019.
In what was a chess match of sorts between the Swiss and Vekic, who is more traditionally aggressive, the two players swapped service holds over the first eight games of the first set, with neither even getting a look at a break point opportunity.
"I knew today was going to be a very difficult match. Donna is in great form now. She showed it again today," Bencic said. "I think we played a very good match with high-quality rallies. It was definitely not easy. I'm happy. I don't know, I stayed calm in the important moments. I just managed to win."
However, it was the Croatian who earned the first opportunity on return, as Bencic let a 40-15 lead slip away in the first key game of the opener, at 4-4. The Swiss served two double faults, and made two unforced errors off of her sturdy groundstrokes, to hand the first break of serve and allow Vekic an opportunity to serve for the set.
Nonetheless, with her back against the wall, Bencic rallied and broke Vekic's serve for the first time before eventually edging the opener in a tiebreak.
"I think she was just playing better tennis, overall, today. I felt like I couldn't get three good points together. I was playing one point good, then bad. I don't know. I didn't really have a lot of rhythm out there today. I was just struggling a little bit with that," Vekic said, in defeat. "I think she played really well the important points."
In the second set, the pair again traded holds of serve, with Vekic keeping her nose in front by saving two break points to lead, 3-2. Nonetheless, that proved to be the last game that the Croat won in the match; behind a pair of love games, Bencic wrestled command of the overall match, and secured her victory on her third match point.
"I think it was small points that changed the whole match. It was, of course, very tight even in the second set," the Swiss added. "I tried to put a little bit more variation in the game. I tried to play a little bit smarter. I'm happy my serve helped me in these important moments, even though I did some double-faults which I didn't like. That's all I can say: just remaining calm in these moments."
WHAT IT MEANS: It's been a long-awaited Slam breakthrough for Bencic, whose well-documented struggles with injuries and subsequent surgeries saw her drop outside of the world's Top 300, as recently as late 2017.
Over the last 18 months, she's surged back up the rankings and with this victory, she will return to the WTA Top 10 for the first time since early 2016, when she was ranked a career-best No. 7.
"I was dreaming, of course, about this day coming, but you never know what's going to happen. You're not thinking about it. You're just right in the moment. Either you're practicing or focusing on your match," Bencic said. "I worked hard for this. It's not like I never imagined I could do this. Still, I stayed in the moment [and it's a] very nice feeling.
"I think the dream of every tennis player obviously is to win the biggest tournaments. I think for sure being No. 1 in the world or winning a Grand Slam is always a dream. But I think it's still a long way to that. Of course, I think you can see it there.
"I think the work and staying in the moment is more important right now. Just taking it step by step, like I said all my career. I know it sounds boring. It's how you have to approach it. I'm just trying to get a step closer to that every day. Today I am a step closer."
MATCH POINT: With a first-time Slam finalist guaranteed in the top half of the draw, regardless of who Bencic faces next, what will the Swiss need to do to reach her first major final?
