Another day, another U.S. victory at the 2023 US Open. After several extended delays—first due to heat, then lightning, then rain—American juniors Katherine Hui and Learner Tien both emerged victorious from their semifinal contests and will contend for US Open singles titles on Saturday.
Maybe it was spending so much time waiting to get on court. More likely, it’s just how she plays. As she has done all tournament, Hui—who received a wild card into the tournament—scored an efficient, 71-minute 6-2, 6-3 victory over No. 10 seed Laura Samsonova, of the Czech Republic. Samsonova ultimately just had no answers for the Californian’s punishing strikes. She was either pushed back, dragged side-to-side or forced to watch the ball skid past her. In the opening set, she managed to hit just one winner, while her opponent conjured eight.
As the match wore on, Samsonova started to make the duel slightly more competitive, even breaking Hui as she served for the match. But winning just 13% of her second-serve points, she struggled to hold her own serve and was broken at love.
Samsonova can take heart: Five games is the most games Hui has dropped in a match throughout her campaign in Queens.
Hui will face another Czech for the title, No. 9 seed Tereza Valentova. Valentova upset top seed Renata Jamrichova of Slovakia, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a back-and-forth battle very much affected by the whims of Flushing Meadows weather. Jamrichova led by a set and a break but ultimately lost in three. Valentova and Hui have never previously met.
American lefty Ben Shelton may have lost his semifinal match inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, but about four hours later on Court 10, American lefty Learner Tien managed to get through his, defeating No. 15 seed Arthur Gea, of France, 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-1 in an immensely physical 2-hour, 37-minute battle.
It was a gritty showing from Tien; the pair played many extended rallies over the course of the match. Tien led by a break for most of the first set and served for it, but still needed a tiebreak to claim it, which he did with an incredible backhand winner. In the second, he led 4-0 before Gea fought back to get it on serve. In the tiebreak, Gea led 5-1, then lost the next four points in a row to put Tien within striking distance of the win. Gea then won the next two points to take it to a third.
Unfortunately, Gea made too many errors to keep it competitive after that; he managed to win just one more game.
For the boys’ singles title, Tien will battle the big-serving, forehand-crushing Joao Fonseca of Brazil, who earlier in the day defeated Italy’s Federico Cina, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The two played each other once before, in the quarterfinals of the Roland Garros earlier this year, with the American coming out on top in three sets, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.
