US Open Day 11: Pegula and Sabalenka advance to women’s final

Day 11 of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York featured women’s semifinal action.

Pegula wins in three sets to reach first grand slam final

Jessica Pegula has shrugged off a sluggish start and come back from a set and a break down at the U.S. Open to defeat Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 for a berth in her first Grand Slam final. The No. 6-seeded Pegula won for the 15th time in her past 16 matches Thursday night. She will meet No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka for the title on Saturday. Sabalenka reached her second consecutive U.S. Open final by beating Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6 (2) with her usual brand of high-risk, high-reward tennis. The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka is a 26-year-old from Belarus who won each of the past two Australian Opens.

Sabalenka advances to second consecutive US Open final

Aryna Sabalenka has reached her second consecutive U.S. Open final by beating Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6 (2) with her usual brand of high-risk, high-reward tennis. The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka is a 26-year-old from Belarus who won each of the past two Australian Opens. She came up a victory short of claiming the championship at Flushing Meadows a year ago by losing to Coco Gauff in front of a loud partisan crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium. On Thursday night, Sabalenka never let another American opponent, the 13th-seeded Navarro, get too comfortable — and never let the spectators play much of a role, either.

Mixed doubles champions crowned

Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori won the U.S. Open mixed doubles title with a 7-6 (0), 7-5 victory Thursday over Taylor Townsend and Donald Young, who fell just short of a Grand Slam title in his final match before retiring. Errani, who won a career Grand Slam in women’s doubles with fellow Italian Roberta Vinci, added her first career mixed doubles title to the Olympic gold medal in women’s doubles she won last month with Jasmine Paolini.

Below are all today’s winners so far. (For Day 10 results click here.)

Day 11 women’s singles, semifinal results

Aryna Sabalenka (2), Belarus, def. Emma Navarro (13), United States, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Jessica Pegula (6), United States, def. Karolina Muchova, Czechia, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Day 11 men’s doubles, semifinal results

Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell (7), Australia, def. Jackson Withrow and Nathaniel Lammons (13), United States, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz (10), Germany, def. Mate Pavic, Croatia, and Marcelo Arevalo-Gonzalez (4), El Salvador, 6-3, 6-7 (9), 6-4.

Day 11 mixed doubles championship result

Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori (3), Italy, def. Donald Young and Taylor Townsend, United States, 7-6 (0), 7-5.

Who are the betting favorites for the US Open?

Sabalenka goes into the semifinals as the favorite to win her first U.S. Open title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. She is listed at -145. The two-time defending Australian Open champion from Belarus is a -400 money-line favorite for her match against Navarro, the No. 13 seed from the U.S. She is listed at +300 against Sabalenka. Pegula is a -185 favorite against Muchova (+140) in their semifinal. No. 1 Jannik Sinner is the favorite to take the men’s championship at -250.

What happened Wednesday at the US Open?

In her seventh major quarterfinal, Pegula finally won one with her 6-2, 6-4 victory over Swiatek. Muchova reached her second straight semifinal in Flushing Meadows by beating No. 22 Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 6-4. Sinner eliminated 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach his first semifinal at the U.S. Open, while No. 25 Jack Draper got to his first major semifinal anywhere by beating No. 10 Alex de Minaur 6-3, 7-5, 6-2. Draper is the first player to reach the U.S. Open semifinals without dropping a set since 2020, and the first British man to get that far in New York since Andy Murray won the title in 2012.

Who plays Friday at the U.S. Open?

The men’s semifinals will be Friday, with Sinner taking on Draper, and No. 12 Taylor Fritz meeting No. 20 Frances Tiafoe in the first all-American matchup in the final four at a Grand Slam tournament since Andre Agassi beat Robby Ginepri in New York in 2005.

What is the US Open schedule for the rest of the tournament?

—Thursday, Sept. 5: Women’s Semifinals

—Friday, Sept. 6: Men’s Semifinals

—Saturday, Sept. 7: Women’s Final

—Sunday, Sept. 8: Men’s Final

What does the current bracket look like?

For live updates and latest bracket results, visit USOpen.org.

Key stats at the US Open

21 — Number of years since there were multiple American women and multiple American men in the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament. At the U.S. Open in 2003, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick (who won the title) all got to the final four.

11 — WTA Tour matches played by Muchova between last year’s U.S. Open and this year’s, after missing nearly 10 months because of surgery on her right wrist.

What was said at the US Open?

“I would like to say I’m so happy that you guys cannot ask me about making it to the semis.” — Pegula, to reporters, after breaking her 0-6 drought in Slam quarterfinals by beating Swiatek.

“It was my ghosts inside my mind, and I know all the tennis players have that.” — Haddad Maia, on her struggles concentrating against Muchova.

“At the end of the day, I’m not afraid of being in these positions. I want to keep on doing this, and this is why I play.” — Draper, after playing in his first major quarterfinal.