Semifinals: Madison Keys vs. Aryna Sabalenka
Arthur Ashe Stadium — Night Session — Second Match
- Like Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova in tonight's opener, both women in the second semifinal are looking to reach the second Grand Slam singles final of their careers. Sabalenka was the champion at the Australian Open in January, and bids for her second major final this season, while Keys bids for her second US Open final. (She finished runner-up to Sloane Stephens in 2017.) Both players are appearing in their seventh Grand Slam semifinal and have posted a 1-5 record in this round to date.
- Sabalenka is the 13th woman in the Open Era to reach the semifinals at all four Grand Slams in a season, and the first since Serena Williams in 2016. A win against Keys would give her 50 matches win this season, a new personal best; since the start of 2021, Sabalenka has won 47 matches and counting at Grand Slam tournaments. Only Iga Swiatek has more.
- Sabalenka is the current world No. 2, and will rise to the world No. 1 ranking on Monday as a result of her performance at the US Open. But she'll be wary of Keys, who's been a giant-slayer this year; the American is 8-6 against players ranked ahead of her this year, including wins over No. 3 Jessica Pegula and Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, the No. 9 seed.
- Both players have largely been untested over the fortnight so far, so something will have to give in tonight's semifinal. Sabalenka has yet to lose a set, dropping just 21 games in five matches, while Keys lost just one set (in a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 14 seed Liudmila Samsonova in Round 3). Outside of that match, Keys lost just 18 games in eight sets through the other four rounds.
- Sabalenka beat Keys 6-2, 6-4 two months ago in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, and leads the overall head-to-head 2-1. But Keys was up a break in the second set in that match, and says she learned several lessons that she hopes to implement in their next major meeting. "I was definitely in the match and had opportunities, so I think even though I lost that match, it wasn't like I wasn't in the match and I had no idea what I was doing out there," she said. "So I think there is a lot of positives that I can take out of that match and try to implement."
