On Thursday night, Serena will play her 38th Major singles semifinal. She’s has an astonishing 32-5 record at this stage of Slams, though three of those losses have come in New York over the past 10 years. The other three semifinalists combine for only one previous Major semifinal. That belongs to Elina Svitolina, who just made her Slam semifinal debut two months ago at Wimbledon. Will Serena’s enormous experience edge help to finally tie the all-time Grand Slam singles title record?
Elina Svitolina (5) vs. Serena Williams (8)
Serena is 4-1 against Svitolina, though they haven’t played in over three years. And Elina claimed their most recent encounter, which was a heartbreaker for Serena. That was in the round of 16 at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where Svitolina prevailed in straight sets, preventing Serena from claiming another Olympic medal. Serena loves to avenge losses such as that, so I’m sure she’ll be extra motivated this evening. However, she’ll also know Svitolina is capable of defeating her, as will Elina. As impressive as Serena’s 44-minute demolition of Qiang Wang was two night ago, where she hit 25 winners and the Chinese No.1 hit zero, there’s a lot more in Svitolina’s game that can bother her. Elina is one of the best movers on tour. And she herself has been extremely impressive during this fortnight, as she’s yet to drop a set. And that includes victories over power players similar to Serena, such as her sister Venus. Svitolina has previously struggled under pressure at the Majors, but that seems to be a thing of the past. At almost 38-year-old, it’s going to be hard for Serena to sustain her high level from Tuesday through two more rounds, especially with history on the line. I expect Svitolina to thoroughly push Serena, but still like the 23-time Major champion to fight her way through in three sets. Even if her level dips a bit, she’s still Serena.
Belinda Bencic (13) vs. Bianca Andreescu (15)
Unlike the first semifinal, these two do not get a day of rest between the quarters and semis. Both played just yesterday, though Bencic’s quarterfinal was much shorter than Andreescu’s, and ended about eight hours earlier. Belinda has also spent much less time on court at this event, having only dropped one set and getting a walkover in her third round. Andreescu has now played two consecutive three-setters within the past three nights. This is not only the first Major semifinal for both women, but also their first career meeting. Both are feisty competitors on court, not afraid to show their emotions both positively and negatively. As tired as the 19-year-old Canadian must be, her amazing record this season shows how much grit she possesses. She’s on an 11-match win streak, and has won 22 straight completed matches (removing a retirement and a walkover from her season). During that stretch, she’s won 12 three-set matches, and has six times come back from a set down, including just yesterday. Bianca continues to find ways to outlast and outcompete the competition. Against a talented and intelligent opponent today, I’m betting on her to figure out a way to reach her first Major final
Other notable matches on Day 11:
In the men’s double semifinals, Rogers Cup champions Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos (8) vs. Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies (12), the French Open champions. This is just the third event as a team for Granollers and Zeballos. After winning the French Open, Krawietz and Mies were 2-7 prior to this semifinal run.
In the other men’s doubles semifinal, Wimbledon champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Roberto Farah (1) vs. Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski. Jamie Murray will also play in the mixed doubles final later this week.
In the first women’s semifinal, Major singles champions Victoria Azarenka and Ash Barty (8) vs. Viktoria Kuzmova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who are in just their second event as a team. Azarenka and Barty upset the top seeds in the last round, while Kuzmova and Sasnovich upset the third seeds. The other women’s semifinal will be decided later this week.
