Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur will meet for U.S. Open title after semifinal wins
Iga Swiatek, left, and Ons Jabeur at the 2022 U.S. Open on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Iga Swiatek knows how to play in the spotlight.
The No. 1 player in the world dug down deep when she needed to and came back from a break down in the final set to defeat Aryna Sabalenka, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, in the U.S. Open semifinals.
Swiatek won the last four games and 15 of the final 20 points to secure a shot at her third Grand Slam title.
“She had the energy and I had to push her back,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview. “I lacked in the first set and I needed to get it tougher.”
Swiatek will take on Ons Jabeur Saturday in the final. Swiatek won the French Open in 2020 and 2022. A win Saturday would give Swiatek her seventh title this season, something nobody had done since Serena Williams in 2014
Sabalenka looked pumped up to start the match, breaking Swiatek three times in the first set. Swiatek took a bathroom break, re-grouped and came back out and made almost every first serve in the second set to even the match.
In the third set, the two exchanged breaks early and then Sabalenka broke again in the fifth set to take a 3-2 lead. Swiatek, with her back up against it, Swiatek broke back in eighth to even the set 4-4 and then cruised to the victory.
Sabalenka is now 0-3 in Grand Slam semifinals, having been defeated in last year’s U.S. Open semis and in the 2021 Wimbledon semis.
Jabeur continued her dominance over Caroline Garcia in the first semifinal.
Garcia had a 13-match winning streak heading into the semi and looked to be a favorite.
But dating to the junior days, Jabeur has been an impossible out for Garcia and that continued Thursday night as the Tunisian rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 win.
Jabeur raised her record against Garcia to 3-0 on the pro tour. The Tunisian now leads their overall head-to-head series 7-0, having won all four of their junior matches.
Jabeur heads to her second Grand Slam final with the hope of winning her first title. She lost to Elena Rybakina, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, in the Wimbledon final two months ago.
“This feels amazing,” Jabeur said in her on-court interview. “After Wimbledon, there was a lot of pressure on me. I’m really glad I can back up my results. I’m really glad I made it to the finals here.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
