NEW YORK — Aryna Sabalenka fought back from the brink of defeat to overcome American 17th seed Madison Keys in a third-set tie-break and line up a US Open final against home favourite Coco Gauff.
Keys served for the match in the second set but incoming world number one Sabalenka overhauled the 2017 runner-up to win 0-6, 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (10/5) to reach her second Grand Slam final.
“I’m really proud of myself that I was able to turn around this game and get this win, because it was just incredible,” said Sabalenka.
“I was just, like, ‘Come on, keep trying, keep pushing, like, I don’t know, do something extra. Just try to turn around this match.’”
“It really means a lot to be in the final of the US Open for the first time,” she added.
Keys was left devastated by the loss after going agonisingly close to a second Grand Slam final.
“I think everyone at the start of the tournament would obviously be really, really excited to be in the semis. Right now it sucks,” said Keys.
“But yeah, I just think being able to, you know, take this and turn it to a positive is really possible. Yeah, there is still a lot to be proud of and still tons of tennis to play this season.”
Sabalenka rode an emotional rollercoaster, angrily remonstrating with her coaching team at times, before being able to sheepishly laugh off celebrating prematurely in the decisive tie-break.
“I thought that we play tie-break up till seven. I was just all over the place,” she said.
“I was thinking that if I’m going to lose this semi-final, I’ll be struggling with sleeping for I don’t know how many days, and I was just, like, I don’t want this to happen. I need some sleep.”
The Australian Open champion will bid for her second Grand Slam title on Saturday against the 19-year-old Gauff. The American holds a 3-2 edge but this will be their first meeting at a major.
“She’s an unbelievable player,” said Sabalenka. “The crowd will be supporting her a lot. I will do everything I can. I’ll be fighting for every point and I will do my best.”
Elsewhere, Italy’s Davis Cup hopes suffered a major blow as Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini withdrew from the team for this month’s group stage.
World number six Sinner struggled with cramp in his 6-4 3-6 6-2 4-6 6-3 loss to Alexander Zverev in the US Open earlier this week.
“Unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to recover after the tournaments in America and unfortunately I won’t be able to be part of the team in Bologna,” Sinner said in a post on the social media site X.
“It is always an honour to play for our country and I am convinced that I will return to the national team soon.”
Italy will also be without Berrettini, who was forced to withdraw from his second-round US Open match against Arthur Rinderknech after falling and sustaining an ankle injury.
“We wish Jannik a speedy recovery, we know how much he cares about the Davis Cup, he has already proved it,” Italy captain Filippo Volandri said according to Reuters.
“Matteo was once again very unlucky, he had made himself completely available to us. He was looking forward to this commitment because he knew it would be good for him, we are also waiting for him for the next challenges.”
The Italian Tennis Federation said the team would include Lorenzo Musetti, Lorenzo Sonego, Simone Bolelli, Andrea Vavassori and Matteo Arnaldi – who reached the last 16 of the US Open.
Italy will play Canada, Chile and Sweden in Group A in Bologna from Sept. 12-17.
Elsewhere, the women´s tennis tour will hold the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, from Oct. 29 to Nov. 5, finally finding a site for the season-ending event that has shifted cities repeatedly.
The tour has a one-year agreement with Cancun, the WTA announced Thursday, hours before the US Open women’s semifinals were scheduled to be played in New York.
There had been speculation in the tennis world that the tournament for the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams could shift to Saudi Arabia, which has been pursuing opportunities in various sports, including tennis, and recently completed a deal for the men´s Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah.
The choice of Cancun creates another long trip and quick turnaround for elite female tennis players because the Billie Jean King Cup finals – a competition for national teams run by the International Tennis Federation – will be in Seville, Spain, starting Nov. 7.
A year ago, the choice to host WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, also was not announced until September.
At the time, top-ranked Iga Swiatek complained that the location and the timing – play wrapped up in Fort Worth one day before the start of the Billie Jean King Cup in Glasgow, Scotland – was a mistake.
She played in Fort Worth and skipped the trip to Glasgow, saying: “This situation is not safe for our health and could cause injury.”
The WTA Finals originally were supposed to be played in Shenzhen, China, through 2030. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was canceled in 2020 and shifted to Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2021.
Fort Worth was selected last year after the tour suspended all of its events in China because of concerns over the safety of Peng Shuai, a Grand Slam doubles champion who accused a government official of rape.
The tour said this April it would lift the China boycott, but when an updated 2023 schedule was revealed in June placing some other events in that country, no city was listed for the WTA Finals.
“The WTA weighed a number of competitive bids through a thorough process, in close consultation with the WTA Players´ Council,” the tour said in its announcement about Cancun. “Venue and partnership choices are based on multiple factors including player logistics, travel accessibility, venue capacity, and a commitment to supporting and showcasing women´s tennis.”
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