NEW YORK (AP) — LOOKAHEAD TO THURSDAY
The women’s semifinals will feature a teenager in each match and nobody who has won a major title in either. Canadian Leylah Fernandez, 19, faces No. 2-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the first match under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Then it’s Emma Raducanu, an 18-year-old qualifier from Britain, against No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece. Fernandez is trying to duplicate the feat of countrywoman Bianca Andreescu, who won the U.S. Open in 2019 when she was 19. Sabalenka is in her second straight major semifinal and trying to reach her first Grand Slam final. Sakkari also made her first Slam semifinal this year at the French Open. To go further she’ll have to beat who hasn’t dropped a set yet in Flushing Meadows. Raducanu is the first qualifier in the professional era to reach the U.S. Open semifinals. The day schedule includes the men’s doubles semifinals at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
THURSDAY’S FORECAST
Cloudy. High of 73 degrees Fahrenheit (23 Celsius).
WEDNESDAY’S WEATHER
Partly cloudy. High of 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 Celsius).
WEDNESDAY’S KEY RESULTS
Women’s Quarterfinals: Emma Raducanu beat No. 11 Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4; No. 17 Maria Sakkari beat No. 4 Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-4.
Men’s Quarterfinals: No. 1 Novak Djokovic beat No. 6 Matteo Berrettini 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3; No. 4 Alexander Zverev beat Lloyd Harris 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-4.
STATS OF THE DAY
26 — Consecutive victories in Grand Slam matches for Djokovic, tying the third-longest streak of his career.
150 — The ranking of Raducanu, making her the first player since 2009 champion Kim Clijsters to be outside the top 100 of the rankings and reach the U.S. Open semifinals.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“They’re playing very boldly, fiercely. Obviously we’re not still in the singles, but I think we can do the same thing in doubles. Keep going, take every match one point at a time, prove that age is just a number.” — Caty McNally, doubles semifinalist with Coco Gauff, on the success of fellow teenagers Leylah Fernandez and Emma Raducanu.
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