US Open Women's Semifinals: Sabalenka, Sakkari Face Unseeded Opponents in Final Four
By Ed Scimia on September 9, 2021 2 min read
A string of early upsets drained much of the star power from the women's draw at the 2021 US Open. Even so, No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka remains alive heading into the semifinals, leading four players who are all looking to pick up their first Grand Slam title.
Aryna Sabalenka (pictured) will take on Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez in the US Open semifinals on Thursday. (Image: Sarah Stier/Getty)
Sabalenka eased by French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova 6-1, 6-4 on Tuesday to book her place in the US Open semifinals.
Sabalenka closing in on US Open title
FanDuel Sportsbook now sees Sabalenka as the clear favorite to win the women's US Open title, making her the +115 pick to take the title. Sabalenka is coming off of a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon and has won two titles on tour this year. This is only her second career singles semifinal at a Grand Slam.
"I'm here in the semifinal and I have another chance to show my best and to show my level on the court," Sabalenka said after her quarterfinal win.
In the semifinals, Sabalenka will face unseeded Canadian Leylah Fernandez. The 19-year-old phenom has never before advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam, and is only making her second US Open appearance. But, Fernandez is no longer sneaking up on opponents. On Tuesday, she defeated No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) to continue her magical US Open run.
"Today's match was definitely one of the hardest, not only tennis-wise, but also mentally and emotionally," Fernandez told reporters after her big win. "I'm glad I was able to recuperate for the third set. The tiebreaker, too. A little bit lucky at five-all, but I'll take all the luck I can get."
Fernandez might need a little more luck to get through her semifinal matchup. Sabalenka comes in as a -330 favorite over Fernandez (+260) to reach her first US Open final.
Sakkari reaches second grand slam semifinal
In the other women's semifinal, French Open semifinalist Maria Sakkari will take on Emma Raducanu, who became the first qualifier to reach the US Open semifinals in the Open era.
Raducanu reached the semifinals by defeating Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday. While Raducanu is aware of how unlikely her run is, she's remaining focused on the next match in front of her. "I'm not here to chase any records right now," Raducanu told reporters. "I'm just taking care of what I can do [in] the moment."
US Open Women's Semifinal Odds (via FanDuel Sportsbook)
Leylah Fernandez: +260 No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka: -330
Emma Raducanu: +128 No. 17 Maria Sakkari: -152
Meanwhile, Sakkari continues to play solid tennis. The No. 17 seed eliminated Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-4 to reach her second Grand Slam semifinal this season. "I served really, really well," Sakkari told reporters. "I'm very happy I managed my stress level and my expectations. Especially at the end of the match, it was quite tough to close it out, but I think I did quite well."
Sakkari comes into the semifinals as the -152 favorite to beat Raducanu (+128), as well as the +270 choice to win the Women's US Open championship.