World No. 1 Iga Swiatek advanced to the US Open final, her third Grand Slam tournament, with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 upset of No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus on Thursday in New York.
The 21-year-old Pole will be up against Tunisian Ons Jabeur (5th), who crushed France’s Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-3 in the opening evening session.
A double winner at Roland-Garros in 2020 and June this year, Swiatek confirms her status as a Flushing Meadows favourite, even if she has to be wary of the 28-year-old Tunisian, who returns to this stage of a Major for the second time consecutive time, two months after her Wimbledon loss to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.
Facing Sabalenka, whom she had defeated on final score in the previous three meetings this year, after a defeat in 2021, the Pole this time finds it more difficult to contain the power and desire to fight the opponent, so much. that she lost the first set by giving up her serve three times.
Then he went for a walk to the locker room. And coming out she was no longer the same player. “Before, when I went to the bathroom, I cried. Now I’m thinking about what to do,” he said afterwards.
She raised her game level quite a bit in the second set and this time it was she who chained three breaks to level.
Earlier Thursday night, Jabeur dominated Garcia, who had made the strongest impression thus far, but was completely paralyzed by what was at stake Thursday in New York.
The 28-year-old Tunisian reached this Grand Slam stage for the second time in a row, following Wimbledon in early July. He then bowed to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.
She is the first African woman of the open era in the final at Flushing Meadows.
“It’s a great feeling. After Wimbledon there was a lot of pressure on me and I’m really relieved to confirm my results. The hardcourt season had started a bit badly, but I’m very happy to be in the final here, “reacted the Tunisian who was eliminated in the first round in Toronto and the second in Cincinnati.
Jabeur is having the best season of his career, having won two of his three titles in April in Madrid, followed by June in Berlin, the first since last year in Birmingham.
And she didn’t miss her meeting in New York, unlike Garcia, who appeared extremely tense upon entering Arthur Ashe’s court, where a minute’s silence was observed in honor of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Frenchwoman was only a shadow of the flamboyant and irresistible player, who was interviewed for three weeks and her WTA 1000 victory in Cincinnati after qualifying.
“I was ready”
Returning to her best after a five-year hiatus, she has found the framework for a major semi-final and could become the first French woman to reach the Flushing Meadows final since Mary Pierce in 2005.
Nothing happened as he not only piled up unforced errors, but ran into a formidable opponent of precision and composure, who didn’t have to play great tennis to win in just 1:06am.
Excellent in return, Jabeur converted the four break points she got. And she was also very solid on serve, leaving only one chance for Garcia to steal it from her, with no success as the Lyonnais tried in the second set to raise the level and pressure her opponent, but not enough.
“It was very important to have as many serves as possible. I’m so glad it didn’t break me in the end. Mentally, I was ready,” Jabeur commented, before looking forward to his upcoming final.
“I hope Iga and Aryna play five hours,” he had said with a smile before the other semi-final, before more seriously recalling a basic principle: “the final is not about tennis, you have to play it. “.
