Naomi Osaka kept her poise whenever Karolína Muchová threatened during Wednesday’s US Open quarterfinal. She sparkled like her bedazzled purple dress and won in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(3).
Osaka will now face American and No. 8 seeded Amanda Anisimova in the semifinals Thursday.
Advertisement
Muchová, the No. 11 seed from the Czech Republic, was searching for her third straight US Open semifinal appearance. Osaka, a Japanese native and the No. 23 seed in the tournament, was making her first appearance in a major quarterfinal since she won the Australian Open in 2021. The former world No. 1 was coming off a straight-sets victory over No. 3 seed Coco Gauff.
Osaka and Muchová put on a serving clinic, including in the first set, during which they landed 60% and 83% of their first serves, respectively. They traded service games until Osaka held a 5-4 lead. That’s when she played herself into a triple set-point opportunity. A well-timed ace from Muchová saved the first one.
But then a Muchová return sailed long, and Osaka seized the opening set.
Then Muchová, who spent more than 10 hours on the court during the first four matches of her US Open run, headed to the locker room. She came back with her left quad wrapped.
Advertisement
A string of impressive volleys, followed by an Osaka double fault, invited Muchová to a potential break opportunity. Two of them came about, actually, with Muchová winning the second one in a deuce. But Osaka broke Muchová right back, starting with a beaming forehand down the line.
Muchová’s mobility appeared especially limited the following game when Osaka made her run along the baseline while using her serve to take a 2-1 lead in the second set.
Muchová continued to hit the ball at a high level, but she was chasing a deficit against a steady and fit Osaka, who picked the right moments to cover ground and play aggressively.
Every time it looked like Muchová was turning the corner, Osaka responded, even pulling out another break after being broken for the second time in the set.
Advertisement
She then dug deep to save two break points on her serve during a 5-5, second-set tie. Osaka held and ultimately won the second set, and the match, with a tiebreaker.
Osaka has never lost a Grand Slam tournament after reaching its quarterfinals. That streak is still alive.
All four of her major championships have taken place on the hard court, with two coming at the US Open and two more arriving at the Australian Open.
It’s been more than four years since her last title. She took a year off in 2023 to give birth to her daughter. But she’s faced a tough road back to the top of the sport.
Earning a seed in this year’s US Open gave Osaka a more manageable draw, and she’s capitalized.
Advertisement
Anisimova redeems herself in rematch with Świątek
Amanda Anisimova is now headed to the US Open semifinals for the first time in her career. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
(Robert Prange via Getty Images)
Amanda Anisimova came to play this time.
After getting completely run over the last time she took on Iga Świątek at the Wimbledon final earlier this summer, the eighth-seeded Anisimova more than held her own on Wednesday afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The American picked up the 6-4, 6-3 win to make it into the semifinals of the US Open in what was a massive turnaround just a few months later.
The win marked the third in her career over a top-five opponent in a major championship. Jessica Pegula is the other American still standing on the women’s side of the tournament. She’ll take on top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in her semifinals match.
Advertisement
Świątek absolutely dominated Anisimova at the Wimbledon final in June. She picked up a wild 6-0, 6-0 win to record what was her sixth major championship and first Wimbledon title. She did that all in less than an hour, too, and was the first Polish woman to win Wimbledon in the tournament’s history.
Whatever went wrong for Anisimova in that match didn’t carry over at all. Anisimova kept pace with the second-seeded Świątek in the first set before finally jumping ahead to the early win. She quickly forced several errors in the final game, too, and had Świątek on her heels the entire way.
Świątek found her footing briefly at the start of the second set and jumped up 2-0 after scoring eight of the first nine points. But Anisimova rallied right away again and tied the match, and then she pulled up 3-2 after an incredible rally to stun Świątek for the point.
Advertisement
From there, Świątek simply looked done on the court. She made seven unforced errors in the second set alone as Anisimova cruised to the finish to grab her upset and secure her trip to the semifinals.
Anisimova entered the tournament ranked No. 9 in the world. This is already her best run at the US Open, and she’ll now make it into just her third semifinals at a Grand Slam in her career. Świątek, on the other hand, will now miss out on the semifinals round of a Grand Slam for the first time this season. She made it to the semifinals of both the Australian Open and the French Open before her Wimbledon win.
Townsend, Siniaková on to finals
It wasn’t as easy as yesterday’s match, but Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniaková are headed to the US Open women’s doubles final.
Advertisement
The top-ranked doubles pairing in the sport picked up a 6-3, 7-6(3) win over Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens in their semifinal match on Wednesday afternoon. The pair will now advance to the finals to take on Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe in the championship.
Townsend, who was involved in a heated-exchange in her third round on the singles side, nearly knocked off Barbora Krejčíková in the fourth round. Krejčíková survived a marathon tiebreak in the second set, however, and eventually grabbed the win to eliminate Townsend.
Townsend has only been to the finals at the US Open one other time in her career, though she and her partner lost in 2022. Townsend and Siniaková fell in the semifinals last year in New York.