A mouth-watering women’s final is in store at the US Open Tennis Championships this weekend as defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and home hope Amanda Anisimova collide in Saturday’s title decider.
Over in the men’s draw, defending champion Jannik Sinner has charged into the semi-finals, where he will battle Felix Auger-Aliassime, with the winner of that tie meeting either Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s showpiece.
Anisimova overcomes Osaka test
Eighth seed Anisimova made it two Grand Slam final appearances in a row by outlasting 23rd seed Naomi Osaka 6-7 7-6 6-3 in a three-hour thriller, setting up a title showdown with world number one Sabalenka in the process.
Anisimova, it must be said, had already completed something of a redemption arc in knocking out second seed Iga Świątek 6-4 6-3 in the quarter-finals after the Pole had destroyed her 6-0 6-0 in the Wimbledon final, and the American will now have another crack at glory.
“I wasn’t sure I would make it past the finish line,” the 24-year-old said courtside after a marathon semi-final bout with her Japanese opponent.
“I just tried to stay positive. There was a lot of nerves at the beginning. This tournament means so much to me. I tried to enjoy the moment.
“This has been a dream of mine forever to be in a US Open final and obviously the hope is to be the champion. It’s really special.”
Osaka, meanwhile, chose to remain positive about the loss despite having looked in solid form after a 6-4 7-6 dismantling of 11th seed Karolína Muchová in the last eight.
“I don’t feel sad,” the two-time US Open champion told reporters.
“I just feel like I did the best that I could. It’s honestly kind of inspiring for me. It makes me want to train and try to get better.”
Sabalenka battles past Pegula
Top seed Sabalenka had to come from a set down but nevertheless got the job done against fourth seed Jessica Pegula, winning 4-6 6-3 6-4 in a rematch of last year’s final.
“It was a really tough match,” the 27-year-old Belarusian confessed in the post-match interview.
“She played incredible tennis as always and I had to work really hard to get this win. I’m just super happy to be in the finals again and hopefully I can go all the way again.
“I was just praying inside and hoping for the best. I’ll go out there on Saturday and I’ll fight for every point like the last point of my life.”
Home favourite Pegula, on the other hand, was left to pick up the pieces of another failed Grand Slam campaign after not doing a lot wrong in front of a partisan New York crowd.
“I thought it was really high-level,” she was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
“I don’t really know what else to say. I don’t know how I didn’t break back in the third. She came up with some ridiculous shots, like on break point.
“I didn’t feel like I did much wrong. It seemed like the level was really high, and we were pushing each other every single game.”
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Sinner to meet Auger-Aliassime
On the men’s side, top seed Sinner moved into his fifth-consecutive Grand Slam semi-final with a 6-1 6-4 6-2 demolition of 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti and will now meet 25th seed Auger-Aliassime for a spot in the final.
The Italian paid tribute to his countryman after the victory, saying: “We know each other very well. We are from the same country.
“We have so many Italian players every time in the draw. I know here there are many Italians, so it’s nice to play here.
“Obviously, playing Davis Cup together and stuff like this, we have to take the friendship away for the match and then obviously when we shake hands, everything is fine.
“From my point of view, it was a great performance, very solid. Especially starting very, very well in the match.”
Auger-Aliassime, for his part, dug deep to secure a comeback 4-6 7-6 7-5 7-6 triumph over eighth seed Alex de Minaur and reach his second-ever US Open semi-final.
“It was just a lot of nerves today during the whole match,” the Canadian admitted to the media.
“It wasn’t pretty at all times. I was willing to dig really deep and do everything I can to stand here right now. It feels amazing.
“Four years ago [when I made the semi-finals] – it feels like more. It was a tough couple of years but it feels even better now to be back in the semi-finals.
“The biggest challenges are yet to come but that’s what I live for, that’s what I train for.”
De Minaur, understandably disappointed at his failure to progress from a Grand Slam quarter-final at the sixth attempt, stated: “Right now, I’m looking at this like a wasted opportunity.
“It’s tough. I was nowhere near the level I needed to be at. That’s frustrating, because you don’t get these chances often.
“I don’t know how I’ll handle it. I’m definitely, as of right now, seeing red, but I’ll get over it. It’s just tennis.”
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Hazel Camba 
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