Emma Navarro's first Grand Slam semi-final will come at the US Open against Aryna Sabalenka, someone trying to win her second major trophy of the year and third overall.
Navarro, an American who is seeded 13th, used a stunning turnaround to grab the last six games of her quarter-final against Paula Badosa for a 6-2, 7-5 victory at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday, following up her upset of defending champion Coco Gauff.
“Sometimes you’re out in the court, and you can kind of picture yourself playing a third set. When I was out there, I didn’t picture myself playing a third set,” despite being down 5-1 in the second, Navarro said. “I felt like ... I could come back and do it in two.”
There was no such drama in second seed Sabalenka's 6-1, 6-2 win against No 7 seed Zheng Qinwen, the gold medalist at the Paris Olympics last month, in a rematch of Sabalenka's victory in the Australian Open final.
With Roger Federer in the stands, attending the US Open for the first time since his retirement, Sabalenka displayed a typically powerful performance to reach the semi-finals in New York for the fourth year in a row. In 2023, she was the runner-up to Gauff.
Sabalenka said she saw Federer in the crowd and figured he was there to watch Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov in the match that followed hers.
“But still, I was like, OK, I have to play my best tennis so he enjoys it. I have to show my skills, you know, slice skills, come to the net and all that stuff,” Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus who's known more for her power, said with a laugh.
She is trying to become the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to win the hard-court major titles at the Australian Open and US Open. Sabalenka defeated Zheng in January for a second consecutive title at Melbourne Park.
“I just think the next time I play against her maybe I should hold a rally better and play a little bit more relaxed,” Zheng said. “Because today obviously I entered into the match with a lot of nerves.”
The opponents in the other women's semi-final will be decided on Wednesday, when No 1 Iga Swiatek plays No 6 Jessica Pegula, and No 22 Beatriz Haddad Maia takes on unseeded Karolina Muchova.
In the men's quarterfinals Tuesday, No 12 Taylor Fritz of the US earned his first berth in the final four of a major, beating 2020 US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.
Fritz had been 0-4 in Grand Slam quarter-finals but finally broke through against Zverev, the No 4 seed he also defeated in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
“I’ve had a lot of looks at quarter-finals over the last couple of years and today just felt different,” Fritz said. “I really felt like it was my time to take it a step further.”
Tiafoe gave the Americans a third semi-finalist when Grigor Dimitrov stopped playing because of an injury in the fourth set. Tiafoe was leading 6-3, 7-6, 6-3, 4-1 and will play the 12th-seeded Fritz in Friday's semis, guaranteeing the US a men’s finalist in its Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2006.
Tiafoe had a muted celebration and offered his opponent an embrace at the net, with the crowd already starting to shuffle out of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"It was a really, really high-level match," said Tiafoe. "Obviously I didn't want to end it like that."
“It's not the way I want to get through, but obviously happy to get through. Another semi-final here. Incredible.”
Tiafoe, the 20th seed, faces the biggest match of his life career against Fritz and will look to get the better of another American after taking out Ben Shelton in a five-set, third-round thriller.
"I can't be more excited," said Tiafoe. "I know we're two Americans but I hope you're with me come Friday."
