Friday, September 05, 2025

US.12- The Taking of Flushing Meadows One Two Three (Parts 1 & 2)










=DAY 12 NOTES=
...women's semifinal night filled the penultimate evening session on Ashe with the sort of compelling battles that haven't exactly populated the singles competition on a regular basis at this U.S. Open, making up on the court for two-plus weeks of action whose headlines and moments -- from invitationals and fashion to arguments and bedazzled stuffed monsters -- have more often than not centered around things that in a perfect slam world would provide "atmosphere" for the season's final major rather than, you know, most of the time being the top story.

Night 12 finally centered the conversation back between the lines.

First up was a rematch (a round earlier) of the 2024 final between #1 Aryna Sabalenka and #4 Jessie Pegula, with defending champion Sabalenka trying to get one step closer to filling the conspicuously empty section of her '25 resume where slam titles should be listed. A three-time major winner already in her career, the Belarussian's slam campaign this year has consisted of one frustration after another, as she exited in three-set affairs vs. three different U.S. women in the "money stages" of every major, the AO and RG finals vs. Madison Keys and Coco Gauff, respectively, and then in the Wimbledon SF to Amanda Anisimova.

On this night, neither Sabalenka nor Pegula managed to carve out a BP opportunity until Sabalenka took a 15/40 lead in game 6. On BP #3, she completed a big return/forehand winner combination to grab a 4-2 lead. With the seal broken, Pegula took Sabalenka's service game moments later when a DF on BP ended Sabalenka's streak of 32 straight holds.

Playing with necessary aggression, Pegula had another BP chance in game 9. Sabalenka's long forehand gave the U.S. woman a 5-4 lead, and she quickly took advantage with a love hold that grabbed the opening set. Pegula finished the 1st by winning 16 of the final 19 points, a run that began soon after Sabalenka had gone up a break at 4-2.

The 2nd set saw Sabalenka take the early break advantage again, but this time hold it throughout. Pegula kept herself alive in the set by saving BP and holding in games 6 and 8 (to get within 5-3) as the play of both women was a bit scratchy down the stretch. Still, Sabalenka held for 6-3 to level the proceedings.

In the 3rd, Sabalenka once more took the early break lead. It would prove to be key, and just enough to get by, as Pegula spent the rest of the set winning 16 straight points on serve, while Sabalenka struggled to hold her advantage. In contrast to Pegula, Sabalenka fell behind 15/40 and had to save 3 BP in game 6, then another in game 8.

Serving for the win at 5-4, Sabalenka again felt Pegula's breath on the back of her neck at 30/30. Reaching down for the game that has made her the best hard court player in the game, Sabalenka fired an ace to reach MP. She missed on an overhead on her first MP chance, then didn't get down far enough to get her racket on a low ball at the net on MP #2. Finally, on MP #3, Sabalenka ventured toward the net and fired a match-ending forehand winner (soon accompanied by a roar) to close out her latest slam final run, 4-6/6-3/6-4.



The win puts Sabalenka into her sixth consecutive hard court slam final, her third in a row at Flushing Meadows, and third at a major this season alone. The last women to successfully defend a title in New York was (naturally) Serena Williams, who won her third straight in 2014.

Of course, though she finally dispensed with a Bannerette in a three-setter in the latter stages of a '25 slam on this night, Sabalenka won't exorcise her season's big stage demons unless she can lift the title again on Saturday.

And wouldn't you know it, she'll have to get over the "Bannerette hump" one more time to do it.



While Amanda Anisimova left this year's Wimbledon without a title after having reached the final, and without having won a game in that match, rather than puncture her confidence the experience seems to have emboldened the #8-seeded Bannerette on the even bigger stage in New York. After having avenged her SW19 loss to Iga Swiatek in last night's QF, Anisimova faced off with #23 seed Naomi Osaka on Thursday for a berth in her second consecutive major final. Osaka, a two-time U.S. Open champ, came into the night with a career 13-0 mark in slam play from the QF round forward, and over the past week and a half has looked more comfortable and played better than she has in years.

In a match of shifting momentum that lasted nearly three hours and didn't conclude until 1 a.m. New York time, Anisimova "played the long game" as she stayed on Osaka's heels, slowly caught up to her, and then pulled away down the stretch in the deciding set.

The tone was set early for a streaky opening set. After Osaka began the night with a break of serve, and Anisimova avoided going down a double-break with a hold from love/40, the Bannerette quickly broke back in game 4 to get the 1st back on serve. Though Anisimova's game had too many errors in this opening stanza, she managed to keep close to Osaka on the scoreboard by taking advantage of her second serve.

Osaka regained her break edge at 3-2, then fought off Anisimova with a three-deuce hold for 5-3 after having fallen behind 15/40. But, two games later, Osaka was unable to serve out the set, going down love/40 and seeing an Anisimova second serve return winner get the break to even the set again. Things went to a TB, where Osaka burst out to a 6-1 lead. Anisimova closed the gap to 6-4 before finally netting a forehand to give Osaka a 7-4 win.

The 2nd was another set where neither Osaka nor Anisimova could keep momentum on their side for long. Anisimova broke to open the set, but gave it back the next game. She then did the same thing after breaking serve to go up 3-2, being unable to consolidate the break a game later.

At 4-4, Osaka raced out to a 40/love lead. She could seemingly see a spot in the final from there, only to drop game 9 with a sudden points-lost streak that gave Anisimova a chance to serve out the set. Immediately falling behind love/40, the Bannerette once again could not complete the task.

Osaka held from 15/40 in game 11 before Anisimova leveled things again to get to another TB. This time, though, it was the home player who grabbed a big lead, as Anisimova fired several laser-like winners en route to a 5-1 edge, ultimately winning 7-3.

After two sets of shifting momentum, one might have thought that the 3rd would go a similar route. But, instead, Anisimova's late-2nd momentum finally began to cement itself in the decider. She broke to take a 3-1 lead, then started a glide to the finish.

Serving at 5-3, Anisimova took a 40/15 lead before a brief stumble threatened to give the match a final twist. Back-to-back errors and a DF erased Anisimova's lead and put her down BP. She had to save a pair of BP before finally putting away her third MP to win 6-7(4)/7-6(3)/6-3



...in the wheelchair competition, the highlight *QF* match-up between top-seeded Yui Kamiji and six-time defending champ Diede de Groot -- winners of 31 of the last 33 slam titles -- lived up to advanced billing as Kamiji's turnaround of her longtime deficit against the former #1 continued and she picked up her fourth straight win in the series since breaking her 28-match losing streak vs. de Groot (2021-24) last summer, completing a 3-6/6-4/6-4 victory today.

Kamiji will next face #4-seeded Wimbledon champ Wang Ziying in the semis, while #3 Li Xiaohui will face #2 Aniek Van Koot (who avenged her Wimbledon loss to Ksenia Chasteau).

In the doubles, de Groot got a small measure of revenge for her loss earlier in the day, joining with Zhu Zhenzhen to defeat defending doubles champs Kamiji & Kgothatso Montjane to reach the final. It means de Groot, who missed the AO before returning in the spring from offseason hip surgery, has one more chance to avoid having the first slam title-less season of her career (she's won at least one singles and one doubles title every year since her 2017 major debut, and while her singles streak has ended she can still keep her doubles run alive with one more victory).

It won't be an easy get, as the duo will face #2-seeds Li & Wang, the winners of the AO and Wimbledon titles this year (as well as being the RG finalists).

...in the wheelchair juniors, #2-seeded Waffle Luna Gryp will meet Bannerette Sabina Czauz in the final, while Czauz will also have a shot at a title in the doules final.

...two Brits, a Swedish qualifier and a Belgian on a 21-match winning streak remain in the girls' singles semifinals.



#9 Mika Stojsavljevic, the reiging U.S. Open junior champ, defeated #4-seeded Wimbledon winner Mia Pohankova in the QF today, and will face Sweden's Lea Nilsson for a berth in the final. Qualifier Nilsson upset #1 seed Julieta Pereja last round, and today took out Charo Esquiva Banuls (ESP), the #8 seed.

On the other side of the draw, Stojsavljevic's fellow Brit, #2 Hannah Klugman defeated #5 Julia Stusek (GER), while #14 Jeline Vandromme extended her long winning streak with a win over Pastry Ksenia Efremova.






*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. #8 Amanda Anisimova/USA

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. #3 Dabrowski/Routliffe (CAN/NZL)

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
(WC) Errani/Vavassori (ITA/ITA) def. #3 Swiatek/Ruud (POL/NOR) 6-3/5-7 [10-6]

*GIRLS SINGLES SF*
(Q) Lea Nilsson/SWE vs. #9 Mika Stojsavljevic/GBR
#14 Jeline Vandromme/BEL vs. #2 Hannah Klugman/GBR

*GIRLS DOUBLES SF*
#3 Kovackova/Kovackova (CZE/CZE) vs. Bennemann/Zhenikova (GER/GER)
Yodpetch/Zhang R. (THA/CHN) vs. #4 Vandromme/Vladson (BEL/LTU)

*WHEELCHAIR SINGLES SF*
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN vs. #4 Wang Ziying/CHN
#3 Li Xiaohui/CHN vs. #2 Aniek Van Koot/NED

*WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL*
de Groot/Zhu (NED/CHN) vs. #2 Li/Wang (CHN/CHN)

*WHEELCHAIR JUNIOR SINGLES FINAL*
Sabina Czauz/USA vs. #2 Luna Gryp/BEL

*WHEELCHAIR JUNIOR DOUBLES FINAL*
Czauz/Matsuoka (USA/JPN) vs. Heald/Porges (USA/GER)









...SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE... ON DAY 12:


As noted earlier this week, the U.S. Open night session no longer has the cache it once did, largely because the first week of September in the States is no longer a moment when tennis can maintain its place in the sports spotlight simply because that has *always* been its spot.

Though it seems like the ratings have been fine, this U.S. Open has gotten less play here than *any* I can ever remember, as it was *totally* lost in the lead-up to the opening of the football season across these past two weeks (which has taken place mostly on ESPN, which also covers the Open... but knows what pays the bills and acts accordingly).

Now, the tournament isn't going to be moved or anything, but the USTA *could* accept the current reality that its spot on the U.S. calendar is now overrun by the ratings/attention monster that is football, either the college or NFL variety, and maybe try to schedule accordingly. It's not impossible, as the USTA for a time played the women's final in "primetime" to take better advantage of the moment that was the rise of the Williams sister in order to maximize the event's exposure on the U.S. sports landscape, and *both* semifinals didn't used to be played at night, either.

Let's be real, it's time to stop playing both of the women's semis in direct competition with the NFL Thursday Night opener, which is a certainty *every* year at this juncture. Rather than starting the first semi at 7 p.m., how about something like 5:30/6 p.m. to provide a better time cushion, or maybe just play one during the day. It's not as if the day schedule at this time of the tournament is so packed (especially w/o the MX event) that the "night session" can't start a bit earlier, or that some value can't be given to the "daytimers" in the form of a major semifinal match in broad daylight.

Not only that, but when you get *two* good matches you get such a late finish that things go well past midnight, leaving seats empty as, you know, people have places to be on Friday morning (it's less of a problem on Friday heading into the weekend). Though ESPN tried to ignore it tonight, it was pretty clear every time a shot of the stands was shown that the lower level was sorta empty.




...JESS' BUFFALO BILLS ROOTS ARE SHOWING AGAIN... ON DAY 12:





...THE BIGGEST "WHAT IF?" OF THIS OPEN... ON DAY 12:





...HMMM, I WONDER WHO MADE THE FINALS IN 2002... ON DAY 12:





...SO THERE WAS STILL A *LITTLE* MORE VENUS INCOMING... ON DAY 12:
















kosova-font

*SLAM FINALS - ACTIVE*
16 - Venus Williams (7-9)
7 - ARYNA SABALENKA (3-3)
6 - Iga Swiatek (6-0)
5 - Victoria Azarenka (2-3)
4 - Naomi Osaka (4-0)
3 - Coco Gauff (2-1)
3 - Petra Kvitova (2-1)
3 - Caroline Wozniacki (1-2)
3 - Ons Jabeur (0-3)
2 - Barbora Krejcikova (2-0)
2 - Sofia Kenin (1-1)
2 - Madison Keys (1-1)
2 - Elena Rybakina (1-1)
2 - Sloane Stephens (1-1)
2 - Marketa Vondrousova (1-1)
2 - AMANDA ANISIMOVA (0-1)
2 - Jasmine Paolini (0-2)
2 - Karolina Pliskova (0-2)

*U.S. OPEN FINALS - ACTIVE*
4...Venus Williams (2-2)
3...ARYNA SABALENKA (1-1)
3...Caroline Wozniacki (1-2)
3...Victoria Azarenka (0-3)
2...Naomi Osaka (2-0)
1...Bianca Andreescu (1-0)
1...Coco Gauff (1-0)
1...Emma Raducanu (1-0)
1...Sloane Stephens (1-0)
1...Iga Swiatek (1-0)
1...AMANDA ANISIMOVA (0-0)
1...Leylah Fernandez (0-1)v 1...Ons Jabeur (0-1)
1...Madison Keys (0-1)
1...Jessie Pegula (0-1)
1...Karolina Pliskova (0-1)

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2025*
8 - ARYNA SABALENKA (3-4)
5 - Jessie Pegula (3-2)
4 - AMANDA ANISIMOVA (1-2)
3 - McCartney Kessler (2-1)
3 - Elise Mertens (2-1)
3 - Iga Swiatek (2-1)
3 - Coco Gauff (1-2)

*RECENT U.S. OPEN "LAST BANNERETTE STANDING"*
2017 Sloane Stephens (W)
2018 Serena Williams (RU)
2019 Serena Williams (RU)
2020 Serena Williams and Jennifer Brady (SF)
2021 Shelby Rogers (4th)
2022 Coco Gauff and Jessie Pegula (QF)
2023 Coco Gauff (W)
2024 Jessie Pegula (RU)
2025 Amanda Anisimova (in F)

*RECENT BEST U.S. WOMEN'S SLAM RESULTS*
=2022=
AO: Danielle Collins (RU)
RG: Coco Gauff (RU)
WI: Amanda Anisimova (QF)
US: Coco Gauff and Jessie Pegula (QF)
=2023=
AO: Jessie Pegula (QF)
RG: Coco Gauff (QF)
WI: Madison Keys and Jessie Pegula (QF)
US: Coco Gauff (W)
=2024=
AO: Coco Gauff (SF)
RG: Coco Gauff (SF)
WI: Emma Navarro (QF)
US: Jessie Pegula (RU)
=2025=
AO: Madison Keys (W)
RG: Coco Gauff (W)
WI: Amanda Anisimova (RU)
US: Amanda Anisimova (in F)

*RECENT U.S. OPEN "LADY OF THE EVENING" WINNERS*
2017 "The Late Show starring Madison Keys"
2018 Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
2019 Serena Williams, USA
2020 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2021 Maria Sakkari, GRE
2022 "Serena Williams: The End"
2023 Alona Ostapenko, LAT
2024 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2025 "Exquisitely Back in the City" (Sharapova receives HoF ring)





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TOP QUALIFIER: Janice Tjen, INA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): Emma Raducanu/GBR
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #23 Naomi Osaka/JPN
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2: Dominika Salkova/CZE def. Kristina Dmitruk/BLR 6-3/5-7/7-6(10-8) - saved 4 MP on serve at 6-5 in the 3rd, then trailed 4-1 in MTB
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Alex Eala/PHI def. #14 Clara Tauson/DEN 6-3/2-6/7-6(13-11) - comeback from 5-1 down in 3rd; first PHI w/ GS MD win
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova/CZE def. Taylor Townsend/USA 1-6/7-6(13)/6-3 - saves 8 MP
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: Polina Kudermetova/RUS (def. Parrizas Diaz/ESP, ret. after 2-2 in 1st set)
FIRST SEED OUT: #24 Veronika Kudermetova/RUS (1r, lost to qualifier Tjen/INA)
FIRST CAREER SLAM MD WINS: Alex Eala/PHI (3rd GS MD), Polina Kudermetova/RUS (5th MD) and Janice Tjen/INA (1st MD)
PROTECTED RANKING MD WINS: Sorana Cirstea/ROU (2nd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSER MD WINS: no LL in MD
UPSET QUEENS: Asia (seeded upsets by Tjen/INA, Eala/PHI; Uchijima saved 7 MP vs. Danilovic)
REVELATION LADIES: Russia (10-3 1r; first slam MD W by P.Kudermetova, and first US wins by Blinkova and Zakharova)
NATION OF POOR SOULS: China (1-5 1st Rd.; 0-5 start; Zheng Qinwen DNP)
CRASH & BURN: #6 Madison Keys/USA (AO champ loses 1r to Zarazua; second US 1r exit in 12 years)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEW YORK: Moyuka Uchijima/JPN (1r- saved 7 MP, down triple MP twice vs. Danilovic)
IT ("?"): Nominee: Anisimova, (wheelchair), Stojsavljevic (jr.), Nilsson (jr.)
Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Nominee: Anisimova, Siniakova, (wheelchair)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Priscilla Hon/AUS (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Caty McNally/USA (2nd Rd.)
LAST BANNERETTE STANDING: Amanda Anisimova (in Final)
COMEBACK: Naomi Osaka/JPN
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Barbora Krejcikova/CZE
DOUBLES STAR: Nominees: Siniakova/Townsend, Dabrowski/Routliffe, Li/Wang (WC)
BIG APPLE BANNERETTE BREAKTHROUGH: Taylor Townsend/USA
BROADWAY-BOUND: "Naomi Osaka presents 'Labubus Take New York'"
LADY OF THE EVENING: Maria Sharapova ("Exquisitely Back in the City," received Hall of Fame ring on Ashe 19 years after won title there)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Nominees: Nilsson, Vandromme, Klugman & Stojsavljevic







All for Day 12. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 3:15 AM 

2 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

So far this year, all of Sabalenka's loses at slams have come against American players. I think this trend will continue on Saturday.

Fri Sep 05, 10:57:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Honestly, that might just give her some sort of complex. ;)

Fri Sep 05, 11:29:00 PM EDT  

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