Kiwi Joelle King beaten in US Open semis
WELLINGTON: Kiwi player Joelle King’s winning run at the US Open in Philadelphia has been brought to a halt by second seed Raneem El Welily in the semifinals.
King had earned a reputation as a giant killer following her secondround defeat of defending champion Camille Serme and eighth seed Alison Waters in the quarterfinals, but was unable to replicate her form against the world No 3 El Welily.
The Egyptian took the first game before resilient world No 10 King came back to win the second 116 and level the scores.
However, the Egyptian kept her composure to close out the final two games 116, 116 and reach her second US Open final, where she will meet compa 118
a triot and 10th seed Nour El Tayeb.
El Welily had high praise for King, who was a semifinalist at the China Open, runnerup at the Macau Open and now semifinalist at the $US165,000 ($NZ230,000) US Open in her past three tournaments.
‘‘She has had a great season and has beaten everyone in the top five,’’ El Welily said.
‘‘I just tried to keep pushing and digging as much as I could, she was playing really well in the third game and she really had me running all over the court.
‘‘I thought there was no way out but I just kept digging and I think I broke her mentally and that was key.’’
The two had met eight times previously on the World Tour, with El Welily winning on all occasions.
King will now remain in the United States, to play next week’s Carol Weymuller Open in New York, where she is seeded fifth in a 16player draw. — NZN