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Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka hit the court for tonight’s second semifinal. Top seed Swiatek won the toss and elected to serve. The players are in their warm-up and we should start shortly.
Updated at 01.47 BST
“It feels amazing,” Jabeur says in his courtside interview after reaching his first US Open final. “After Wimbledon, [there was] A lot of pressure on me and I’m very relieved to be able to back up my results. The hardcore season started a bit badly, but now I’m very happy to have reached the final here.”
Jabeur is asked if her perfect head-to-head record against Garcia entering tonight’s match – two wins on the pro tour and four more on the juniors – helped her win.
“I mean it helped and not at the same time, because I know I was playing great tennis and that kind of pressure puts a lot of pressure on you. So it wasn’t easy for me, but mentally I was very prepared.”
Jabeur wins 6-1, 6-3 to reach the US Open final!
Second set: Garcia 1-6, Jabeur 3-6
With Jabeur serving for the match, Garcia conjured a pair of winners to force it to 30-all. But the Tunisian responds with a forehand winner for match point, then a 75 mph body serve that Garcia smashes into the net. Jabeur immediately drops to his knees behind the baseline and lets out a scream. Goes to the US Open final for the first time!
Updated at 01.30 BST
Second set: Garcia 1-6, 3-5 Jabeur* (*indicates the next server)
Garcia holds on comfortably, hitting a couple of lovely volleys along the way. Now it’s Jabeur’s turn to fight for a place in Saturday’s final.
Second set: *Garcia 1-6, 2-5 Jabeur (*indicates the next server)
Another chance for Garcia as Jabeur goes 15-30 down with his serve. Jabeur responds with a second-serve winner at 93 mph before holding serve on another slew of unforced errors from Garcia. Jabeur is four points away from his first US Open final with Garcia as he will need to stay in the tournament after the change of ends.
Second set: Garcia 1-6, 2-4 Jabeur* (*indicates the next server)
Garcia falls behind love-30 on his serve. He’s able to hold on with four quick points from there, finally getting the free points on his serve that he’s been getting all tournament but eluded him tonight. But he’s still down a set and a break and will need to break Jabeur’s serve, and soon, to keep his US Open run alive.
Caroline Garcia has fought hard in her first major semi-final. Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran/USA Today Sports
Updated at 01.17 BST
Second set: *Garcia 1-6, 1-4 Jabeur (*indicates the next server)
Jabeur seems destined for stress-free control at 40-15. But Garcia wins a pair of points to make it two on a Jabeur service game for the first time all night. A good fight from Garcia to force a second deuce point, then a third, but Jabeur is able to get out of trouble, cracking her eighth ace of the night along the way.
Jabeur breaks in the fourth game of the second set!
Second set: Garcia 1-6, 1-3 Jabeur* (*indicates the next server)
Everything has gotten worse for Garcia. After falling behind at love-15, then 15-30, then 30-40 and the break point on his serve, he shuffles in his 18th unforced error of the night to give Jabeur the break of service
Second set: *Garcia 1-6, 1-2 Jabeur (*indicates the next server)
A chance for Garcia, who is able to take it to 30 on Jabeur’s serve for just the second time all night. But Jabeur wins two quick points from here to hold before it can get interesting.
Second set: Garcia 1-6, 1-1 Jabeur* (*indicates the next server)
Garcia is pressed again on her serve after another unforced error on the forehand makes it 30-all. But she hangs on from there, ending the match with the first ace of the night: 108 mph down the middle.
Second set: *Garcia 1-6, 0-1 Jabeur (*indicates the next server)
Jabeur breaks through for his first service game of the second set. The Wimbledon runner-up is on fire while Garcia… isn’t.
Jabeur wins the first set, 6-1!
Jabeur breaks in the seventh game of the first set!
First set: Garcia 1-6 Jabeur
Garcia opens with a drop-shot winner but falls behind 15-30 with two more errors. Jabeur then hits a forehand return winner for 15-40 and a pair of set points. But she only needs one of them as Garcia sends a forehand wide to give the Tunisian the first set in just 23 minutes.
Remember: Garcia entered tonight’s match without losing a set in the tournament with just 27 games conceded. It will need to restart quickly or it could be late.
Ons Jabeur celebrates after winning the first set of Thursday’s match. Photograph: Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Updated at 00.49 BST
First set: *Garcia 1-5 Jabeur (*indicates the next server)
Jabeur smashes three straight aces down the middle to race to 40 love, then closes the rudimentary love hold to consolidate the break with a forehand volley winner. Garcia will now serve to stay in the first set.
Jabeur breaks in the fifth game of the first set!
First set: Garcia 1-4 Jabeur* (*indicates the next server)
More error-strewn play from Garcia costs him dearly. He falls behind 30-40 on his serve with his ninth, 10th and 11th unforced errors of the day, then gives Jabeur a double break advantage with his 12th (against just four winners). Garcia is struggling badly with Jabeur’s cut and is in a lot of trouble after less than 20 minutes.
First set: *Garcia 1-3 Jabeur (*indicates the next server)
Jabeur falls behind 15-30 on his serve but takes three quick points with a 100 mph ace down the middle followed by back-to-back forehand winners. He is serving well and hitting the ball with confidence early on.
First set: Garcia 1-2 Jabeur* (*indicates the next server)
Garcia quickly falls behind love-30 on her serve. But she rattles off four quick points from there to get on the board and avoid a disastrous start. As the players switch ends, the sun sets over the Manhattan skyline from the west side of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
View of the New York skyline during Thursday’s US Open semifinal between Caroline Garcia and Ons Jabeur. Photo: Julia Nikhinson/AP
First set: *Garcia 0-2 Jabeur (*indicates the next server)
Jabeur hits back-to-back aces down the middle to open his first service game. Then Garcia commits another unforced error (his fifth already) and Jabeur is one point away from taking it at 40-love. The 17th seed has dropped seven points in a row, showing early nerves. She gets two points back with a backhand winner and Jabeur’s first double fault, but Jabeur holds comfortably thanks to Jabeur’s sixth error.
Jabeur breaks in the first game of the first set!
First set: Garcia 0-1 Jabeur* (*indicates the next server)
Garcia wins the first two points. But he follows up with a couple of unforced errors off the straight from the baseline, then hits a forehand volley to face an early break point. A chance for Jabeur to draw first blood. And Garcia gave it to him, sending a backhand down the court going over the baseline at the start of the point.
Jabeur and Garcia hit the court for their semifinal match on a pleasant 75F (24C) night. They go out to a two-thirds empty Arthur Ashe Stadium, due to the usual late arrivals in New York. Billie Jean King is out for the coin toss and the players join her at the net, then pauses for a moment of silence to commemorate the Queen’s passing.
Garcia wins the toss and chooses to serve. The players are already in their warm-up and we should start shortly.
Caroline Garcia, left, poses for a photo with Ons Jabeur before their U.S. Open semifinal match. Photograph: John Minchillo/AP
Updated at 00.18 BST
A few quick notes before tonight’s opener between Jabeur and Garcia. Jabeur, the fifth seeded Tunisian to reach the Wimbledon final in July, has become the first African to reach the semi-finals in US Open history. Only three African women have reached the last four at any major in the professional era: Annette Du Plooy (1968 Roland Garros), Yvonne Vermaak (1983 Wimbledon) and Amanda Coetzer (1997 Roland Garros, 1996-97 Australian Open) .
The scorching Garcia, who has won three titles on three different surfaces this summer and enters tonight’s match with a career-best 13-game winning streak, has finally reached the last four in her 42nd career Grand appearance Slam. Only four women have played older before making their semifinal debut: Barbora Strycova (53, Wimbledon 2019), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (52, French Open 2021), Elena Likhovtseva (46, French Open 2005) and Roberta Vinci (44, 2015). US Open) – the last of these to the chagrin of Serena Williams.
preamble
Hello and welcome to Flushing Meadows for tonight’s US Open women’s semifinals. We have a delicious ticket in store with No. 5 Ons Jabeur taking on No. 17 Caroline Garcia in the opener and No. 1 Iga Swiatek taking on No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka in the night.
We’re guaranteed a first-time US Open champion from this crop, but all the talk about it being an open semifinal draw seems a little off with a group of four that includes the champion of the This year’s French Open (Swiatek). , a returning U.S. Open semifinalist (Sabalenka), the runner-up at Wimbledon (Jabeur), and the most popular player on tour all summer (Garcia). You could hardly ask for a more deserving final four at the end of the season.
Lots more to come tonight from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where the first of our two semifinals should be underway in about half an hour.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Tumaini Carayol’s look at Wednesday night’s (and Thursday morning’s) absolute crack of a men’s quarter-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.