US Open: Pegula defeats Muchova in second semi-final of the day

Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the women’s singles semi-finals at the US Open in New York.

Aryna Sabalenka faces American hopeful Emma Navarro in the first match of the day at Flushing Meadows, before another home hopeful, Jessica Pegula, takes on Czech Karolina Muchova for the second place in Saturday’s final.

Aryna Sabalenka has inched closer to her first US Open title after breezing into the semi-final.

The world number two, who was beaten at Flushing Meadows last year by Coco Gauff, proved to be too much for Olympic champion Qinwen Zhengto handle in a repeat of the Australian Open final in Melbourne.

The Belarusian was victorious, getting the better of her Chinese opponent with a final score of 6-1 6-2.

In a battle of New York-born baseliners, Navarro, who beat defending champion Coco Gauff in the previous round, stunned Badosa by winning the final six games of the second set to wrap up victory in 72 minutes.

Navarro consolidated an early break to go 3-0 up and leaned on her remarkable forehand while turning aside the two break points she faced to secure the first set in convincing fashion.

World number one Iga Swiatek crashed out of the US Open as American Jessica Pegula finally ended her grand slam quarter-final hoodoo at the seventh attempt.

Swiatek had eyes on winning a second title in New York to cement her position as the top player in the women’s game, but she was off-colour in a 6-1 6-4 defeat.

Pegula must have thought she was never going to get into a grand slam semi-final having lost her first six last-eight ties, going back to 2021, but she put that right in front of a partisan home crowd on Arthur Ashe.

She is still in the early stages of a comeback from a serious injury, where she spent 10 months on the sidelines following wrist surgery, only returning in June.

World number two Sabalenka has beaten Navarro just once before, with the American emerging victorious in the other meeting between the two.

Both previous meetings took place earlier this year, with Navarro winning at Indian Wells in March and Sabalenka getting her revenge in the French Open in June.

Sabalenka has 15 WTA Singles Titles to Navarro’s one, and has won two Grand Slams to the American’s zero. Navarro is continuing her breakout year in the game, with the world number 12 putting in her best performance in a Grand Slam this year, having reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

The other American hopeful, sixth seed Jessica Pegula, will face Karolina Muchova for just the second time.

The first meeting between the two came less than a month ago, with the American winning 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in the round of 32 in Cincinnati on her way to a loss in the final against potential opponent Sabalenka.

Pegula is in good form, having reached the final in Cincinnati and won the Canadian Open last month. Muchova is looking for a win that would match her best ever performance in a Grand Slam, when she reached the final of the French Open in 2023.

American Emma Navarro and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka have stepped onto the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.

Sabalenaka began the match with her iconic powerful serve and quickly made it to four points bringing the

Navarro, who returned the serve and volleyed for a bit, netted the ball giving Sabalenka her first point.

An ace and two points later, Sabalenka has one point in the game.

Navarro, who is known for her composure on the court, has managed to catch up with Sabalenka quickly thanks to a few aces.