Well, that was all rather simple. Jessica Pegula had spent three and a half years searching for a route past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam.
She had failed six times. She had faced questions over her nerve and her game. She had even wondered whether her time at this level might have passed.
On Wednesday night, at long last, Pegula broke through to uncharted waters. The irony? After all her struggles and all those doubts, she barely needed to break a sweat.Â
That was, in large part, down to world No 1Â Iga Swiatek, who was in a generous mood inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. En route to this 6-2 6-4 victory, Pegula won 65 points. Forty one of those came via unforced errors from Swiatek.
Pegula won’t care one jot. Despite a late wobble – which saw the No 6 seed squander a couple of match points – she did her job. The American has yet to drop a set all fortnight and now she is one game away from a first Grand Slam final. The omens could hardly be more encouraging, too.
Jessica Pegula reached her first Grand Slam semifinal with US Open victory over Iga Swiatek
The American No 6 seed had lost her previous six major quarterfinals before Wednesday night
The three previous times that Pegula beat Swiatek, she has gone on to win the tournament. Next up? Karolina Muchova.
‘I have been here so many freaking times. I just kept losing, but to great players,’ Pegula said.
‘Finally, finally I can say I’m a grand slam semi-finalist.
‘To do it against the No 1 in the world is crazy. I knew I could do it.’
The No 6 seed had admitted that she was powerless to predict how she would feel heading into this seventh Grand Slam quarterfinal. It would only become clear, she said, once the first game got underway. Well, the American stumbled on a pretty emphatic answer.
Swiatek is among those to have beaten Pegula in the last eight of a major – here, in 2022. And, before this meeting, the world No 1 had lost serve only twice all tournament. She had conceded just four break points en route to the quarterfinals – and none across her past three matches.
Pegula ended that streak straight away. She forced break point and then drew first blood courtesy of a Swiatek double fault. A few minutes later, it happened again. Another break point. Another Swiatek double fault. And, all of a sudden, Pegula was haring towards the last four.
World No 1 Swiatek made an astonishing 41 unforced errors in only 18 games in New York
Team USA Olympic hero Simone Biles was among the crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium
Swiatek steadied the ship enough to win a couple of games but the first set was settled in just 37 minutes. The world No 1 was threatening to hop on train home before many fans had taken their seats inside Arthur Ashe.
She had to find a way – any way – to stop Pegula careering out of sight. So Swiatek headed off court for a break and a change of outfit. It worked – Swiatek held to lead the second set – but only briefly. Pegula levelled and then forced thee more break points.
Swiatek saved one before handing Pegula the initiative with her 25th unforced error in only 11 games.Â
The world No 1 was not quite done yet. She broke back immediately but it proved only a stay of execution. Pegula broke for 4-3 before closing out the match. Curse? What curse?
