Iga Swiatek holds her nerve to battle past Jessica Pegula and march into semi-finals

Iga Swiatek’s hunt for a third career Grand Slam title remains on track as she marched in her maiden US Open semi-final with an absorbing 6-3 7-6(4) victory over Jessica Pegula.

It was far from straightforward, but the world No. 1 held her nerve, winning the crucial points to emerge victorious on Arthur Ashe Stadium to set up a clash with Aryna Sabalenka in the last-four.

Asked how it felt to progress this far in the US Open, Swiatek said: “I’m working hard and trying to keep my expectations low because today was such a tough match. I think it was great and I’m happy that I handled it.”

Victory over Pegula was her eighth consecutive win over a top-10 player in straight sets. Explaining how she raises her level so consistency, the Pole said: “I’m super proud of myself.

“My goal basically is to be consistent and play against the top players in the world. I want to push myself further now because I think any of us can win any tournament. Everyone is a really dangerous opponent, especially Jessica with her consistency.”

Swiatek dug deep to survive a break point to hold in a tough eight-minute opening service game which set the tone for what would prove to be an enthralling battle.

There were signs of rustiness from the first seed, who made several unforced errors in the early stages, and it was Pegula who made the first break of serve after 22 minutes of action to get her nose in front at 3-2.

But the American failed to build on the momentum gained – making a couple of uncharacteristic forehand errors to allow Swiatek to break back.

It was a missed opportunity Pegula would rue, and it helped restore Swiatek’s confidence as she began to accelerate away, showing her credentials as she won 12 of the next 13 points to break her opponent in quick succession.

From staring at a potential deficit of 4-2, Swiatek was suddenly a set ahead as she rattled out four consecutive games to take a huge advantage in the match.

Swiatek had the bit between her teeth now, it appeared, and piled more pressure on her opponent with another break in the opening game of the second set.

But with so much at stake, holding service was becoming an increasingly difficult task for both players, and the pendulum swung back and forth as the players exchanged breaks to level the score at 2-2.

Understandably, the tension was beginning to rise; Pegula surrendered a game point, Swiatek was issued an umpire’s warning for taking too long to use the towel, before the American finally managed to hold serve.

After holding in another lengthy service game, Swiatek broke her opponent in empathic fashion with her searing power as she threatened to take ownership of the second set.

However, the topsy-turvy nature of proceedings continued as Pegula broke her illustrious opponent for the fourth time in the set.

Pegula couldn’t let another chance slip through her grasp, could she? The American screamed out in frustration as she miscued another shot that she ought to have converted. And her pain was compounded as Swiatek took the game with a fortuitous shot that clipped the net and dropped down like a stone.

But just when it looked like the outcome was inevitable, with Swiatek serving for the match, Pegula came roaring back. With the pressure well and truly on her shoulders, remarkably she brought the scores level at 5-5.

It was one step forward and two steps back for Pegula, however, as she made an untimely double fault to gift Swiatek another chance to seal victory. Pegula’s persistence was quite amazing, though, and after an 18-shot rally her never-say-die attitude shone through again to set up a tie break.

The contest was finally brought to a conclusion in an hour and 56 minutes, with Swiatek prevailing on a 7-4 scoreline.

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