Aryna Sabalenka advanced to her second straight U.S. Open final with a 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory over Emma Navarro on Thursday night. The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka, from Belarus, demonstrated her signature high-risk, high-reward tennis, winning the final seven points of the match.
Sabalenka, who has won the Australian Open in 2022 and 2023, fell just short of winning the U.S. Open last year, losing to Coco Gauff in the final. This year, Sabalenka defeated Navarro, the 13th seed, and managed to control the match despite the American crowd’s presence.
In a light-hearted moment, Sabalenka had joked about swaying the crowd in her favor by saying, “Drinks on me tonight?” after her previous match, knowing she would face another American in the semifinals.
Navarro, although trailing for most of the second set, broke Sabalenka’s serve at 5-4 to level the set. However, Sabalenka dominated the tiebreaker, winning every point after Navarro initially led 2-0.
Sabalenka will compete for the championship on Saturday against either No. 6 Jessica Pegula of the United States or unseeded Karolina Muchova from the Czech Republic. The Pegula-Muchova semifinal is scheduled for later Thursday under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium on a cool evening with a slight breeze.
Muchova is making her fourth Grand Slam semifinal appearance, having also reached the final four in New York and the French Open last year. Pegula, who had previously been 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals, advanced by defeating No. 1 Iga Swiatek in straight sets on Wednesday night.
