"Defending your points" never looked so good

Karolina Muchova on her way into the US Open semis pic.twitter.com/lufZj1k9L3

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) September 4, 2024

Karolina Muchova, the Czech Republic's extraordinarily talented player whose body has betrayed her throughout her career, was healthy last summer, and during that period, she reached the final of the French Open and the semifinals of the U.S. Open. But then her chronic wrist problem returned, and she underwent surgery. Consequently, Muchova wasn't around much in 2024. She returned to the tour in June, and had to withdraw from her first event because of concerns about her wrist. 

But here she is, in September, once again reaching the semifinals in Flushing Meadows. Muchova smoothly defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 6-4 in yesterday's quarterfinals, and even though fans got only two sets, they were--as always--sets worth watching, for Muchova's dancer-like athleticism is often a thing to behold. Muchova, apparently ill, had to leave the court a couple of times, but--as she assured everyone after the match--she isn't injured. Oh--and she hasn't dropped a set.

Yesterday's other quarterfinal was an upset waiting to happen. Last year, Alona Ostapenko, who has never lost to world number 1 Iga Swiatek, was asked how she continues to win their matches. She replied quickly: "I don't give her any time." Ostapenko is an exceptionally hard and fast hitter, but--in the hard hitting department--Jessica Pegula is no slouch. And yesterday, Swiatek looked as though she didn't know what (metaphorically) hit her, though Pegula wasn't playing any differently than she usually does.

One of the commentators pointed out that--while it's usually her sports psychologist calling out things to Swiatek during big matches--this time, it was her coach, who generally tends to remain silent. I don't know what he was telling her, but the hits (literally) kept coming, and Swiatek, instead of making adjustments, just continued to look lost. Pegula defeated her 6-2-6-4, and--in doing so--broke her "can't get past the quarterfinals in a major" curse.

On Tuesday, when the other two quarterfinals were played, Emma Navarro faced a suddenly shaky Paula Badosa, who has looked so good this summer, winning the title in Washington and reaching the semifinals in Cincinnati. It was the first time that Badosa--whose career has been seriously hampered by chronic back problems--had ever played on Arthur Ashe Stadium, and she just couldn't handle it. And if you're not feeling emotionally stable on the court, it probably doesn't help that someone like the unflappable Navarro is on the other side of the net. Navarro defeated Badosa 6-2, 7-5.

The other Tuesday quarterfinal may have surprised some fans--not the result, but the scoreline. 2nd seed and Cincinnati champion Aryna Sabalenka defeated Olympic gold medal winner Zheng Qinwen 6-1, 6-2. Last year, she defeated Zheng 6-1, 6-4 in the same round. And, of course, earlier this year, Sabalenka defeated Zheng in the Australian Open final, also in straight sets. 

In doubles, the unseeded team of Kiki Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai upset 3rd seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in an exciting semifinal match. Mladenovic and Zhang had already taken out the second seeds--Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens--in the first round. I found this match especially interesting because--back in the day--the team of "Mladenovic and Anybody" could win just about any match, and these days--the team of "Siniakova and Anybody" can do the same. It was fun to watch them compete against each other.

In the other semifinal, 7th seeds Alona Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok defeated 10th seeds Chan Hao-Ching and Veronika Kudermetova 6-1, 6-2.

In mixed doubles, the unseeded team of Taylor Townsend and Donald Young will play 3rd seeds Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori for the championship.