Rare: Four USA semi-finalists in a Slam
It has been 32 years since four American women reached the semi-finals of the same Grand Slam tournament, and 36 since they managed it at the U.S. Open. Improbably, they have pulled it off this year without the greatest American player of this generation (or any generation): Serena Williams. “That’s the most surprising thing,” said former Open champion Tracy Austin, who was part of the 1981 quartet here. But with Williams on maternity leave, her compatriots have very ably filled the void and all the available slots for Thursday night’s semi-finals.
The lineup: Williams’ older sister Venus versus Sloane Stephens, followed by CoCo Vandeweghe versus Madison Keys. Vandeweghe and Keys advanced on a drizzly Wednesday with straight-set quarterfinal victories in Arthur Ashe Stadium under a closed roof. Vandeweghe, 25, defeated world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in the day session before Keys, 22, defeated Kaia Kanepi, a veteran qualifier from Estonia by 6-3, 6-3 in the night session. After she won match point, Keys let out a long shriek of delight.
“I think we were all rooting for each other today, and I thought it would be a very special moment,” she said of the allAmerican semi-finals. “I’m glad I helped everyone out and got my name in there.”
With the 37-year-old Venus Williams in the mix, this is an American success story encompassing two tennis generations. The group is also multiethnic, with three African-Americans: Williams, Stephens and Keys, who is the child of a black father and white mother.
“I think you can connect some dots there,” said Martin Blackman, the general manager for player development for the U.S. Tennis Association. “It’s the inspiration and the demonstration effect Venus and Serena have had, making the game more accessible for African-American families, making it something they can aspire to. Huge impact, and we’ve got lots coming.”
Keys, Vandeweghe and Stephens, who is 24, were born in the first half of the 1990s. All three had reached Grand Slam singles semi-finals previously but it is quite a feat for them to have all surged at the same major event.
This will be the first U.S. Open singles semi-final for Keys, Vandeweghe and Stephens. Vandeweghe’s victory over Pliskova also guaranteed that Garbiñe Muguruza would replace Pliskova as the world No. 1 on Monday.
Muguruza, the reigning Wimbledon champion from Spain, will be the 24th woman to reach No. 1 since the rankings began in 1975, and she will be the fourth in little more than a year to occupy the top spot. Pliskova will have held it for just eight weeks.