Two women’s semifinals headline primetime at the 2021 US Open on Day 11, as four of the sport’s ultimate talents square off in this event’s penultimate round. The two teens who have turned this Flushing fortnight into their own personal coming-out party have leading roles in this evening’s luminous lineup, as 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez takes on second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, and 18-year-old Emma Raducanu squares off with No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari.
I’m going to go way out on a limb here and suggest that when this tournament began, not too many folks had this final four in the office pool. But every one of these women have played brilliantly to this point in earning their spot in the spotlight, and now, each of the four stand two wins away from one really impressive title.
In a tournament that has had its share of enthralling storylines, one of the most captivating has been that of Fernandez, the Canadian teen who has skated through this draw on a perpetual power-play. When a lesser-known player scores a major upset, we sit up and take notice. When they continue to rack up upset after upset, it tends to bring us to our feet, which is exactly where Fernandez has had the Flushing faithful throughout the course of this event.
First, the Canadian took out defending US Open champion and third-seeded Naomi Osaka in round three; next, she dismissed three-time major champion Angelique Kerber, the No. 16 seed, in round four. In the quarters, one day after turning 19, Fernandez showed fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina to the exit. That’s two former No. 1’s and a former No. 3. No matter how you do the math, it adds up to one impressive bottom line.
Tonight, Fernandez will look to add to her winning equation as she takes on second-seeded Sabalenka, who’s enjoyed a relatively easy advance to her second consecutive Slam semifinal. The 23-year-old Belarussian, also a Wimbledon semifinalist this summer, was pushed to three sets in her opening-round match here last week, but has since advanced without the loss of a set, including a 6-1, 6-4 shellacking of this year’s Roland Garros champion, Barbora Krejcikova, in the quarters. That win was Sabalenka’s 43rd of the year—the best mark on the WTA Tour.
Sabalenka’s impressive play here has been less of a surprise, as she’s this year won two tournament titles, including a hard-court crown at the Abu Dhabi event, and a win over world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the final of Madrid. Through five matches here, she has been a study in steady, cracking 145 winners and winning 81 percent of her first-serve points—best among the women’s final four.
The two women have never met, and while you’d normally go with experience in a setting the size of a Slam semi, Fernandez’ performance here indicates that she doesn’t spend a lot of time reading resumes. In a thrilling three, the teen is through to her first major final.
While it may seem impossible to write a more fascinating story than that of Fernandez, Raducanu has spent the better part of the last two weeks polishing that script. The brilliant Brit, who had to win three qualifying matches just to earn a ticket to the main draw, has now won eight consecutive matches here—without the loss of a set. Raducanu, who made a run to the fourth round of Wimbledon this summer in her major-tournament debut, has been the picture of perfection in becoming the first qualifier—man or woman—to reach the semis of the US Open. It’s the sort of thing that’s just not done, and yet she’s doing it—and in high style.
Raducanu has displayed not only remarkable talent but equally remarkable poise in her record-breaking advance, pairing a lethal arsenal with incredible calm. Not only has she swept every set, but she’s lost a total of just 22 games to this point—by far the lowest among the four semifinalists. Her convincing win over Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in the quarters was her first over a Top 20 opponent—it doesn’t figure to be her last.
Ranked No. 338 prior to Wimbledon, she entered the US Open at No. 150. On the heels of her dash through this draw, she figures to find a place well within the Top 50.
Tonight, Raducanu will look to write yet another chapter in her storybook run against No. 17 Sakkari, who’s already taken out two former Slam champs—Petra Kvitova and Bianca Andreescu—as well as 2016 US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova in advancing to her second major semifinal of the year. The 26-year-old Greek, who reached her first career Slam semi this spring at Roland Garros (the first Greek woman ever to go that deep in a major), has faced just one real test in getting to this point, pushed to three sets by Andreescu in a marathon 3 hour, 29 minute fourth-round battle. Other than that, she’s not dropped a set, utilizing an improved serve and explosive ground game to plant three top 10 seeds in the last three rounds.
This first meeting between Raducanu and Sakkari should be a memorable one, as both women have been zoned-in from the start and enter this encounter at the top of their respective games. The teen figures to have the crowd on her side, but although Sakkari has had less of the spotlight, she doesn’t have less of a game. Her 6-4, 6-4 quarterfinal win over Pliskova, in which she won 22 consecutive points on her serve and 92 percent of her first-serve points, was the definition of dominant. She had 23 winners against just 12 unforced errors and broke the big-serving Pliskova twice while never facing a single break point on her own delivery.
I like Sakkari’s game and I like her grit, so I like her chances. She seems always to be moving forward, and I think she continues that tonight. In three, Sakkari moves forward into her first Slam final.
Watch: Sakkari vs. Pliskova, Quarterfinal Highlights
