Naomi Osaka inspired the tournament to pause on Thursday in reaction to racial injustice and police brutality in the United States, but she will join the rest of the semifinalists on court today.
Yet in a sad reminder of the sexism that permeates the sport, both WTA semifinals have been scheduled to take place outside Louis Armstrong Stadium, and at the same time. Putting that aside, we have four highly-enticing singles semifinals. On the women’s side, a pair of two-time Major winners, Naomi Osaka and Victoria Azarenka, will face two WTA veterans who are playing some of their best tennis.
On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic is vying for his 35th Masters 1,000 title, which would tie him with Rafael Nadal for the most ever. The other three remaining men have zero Masters 1,000 titles among them. Just three days ahead of the US Open, can anyone deter Novak’s momentum?
Naomi Osaka (4) vs. Elise Mertens (14)
They have split their two previous meetings, both contested on hard courts. Mertens prevailed three years ago in Wuhan, while Osaka was victorious in (appropriately) Osaka. Naomi was the on the brink of defeat in Wednesday’s quarterfinals against Anett Kontaveit, yet fought her way to advance 7-5 in the third. Known for her power game, Osaka switched gears midway through the match, allowing her opponent to commit more errors in the second and third sets. Mertens drove her opponent crazy while earning a straightforward win on Wednesday, utilizing a variety of slices and lobs against American Jessica Pegula. She’ll likely look to do the same today to diffuse the power and speed of Osaka, but Naomi will be better equipped to handle Mertens’ guile. This should be a tight matchup, but Osaka is the favorite on what will surely be an emotional day for her, win or lose.
Johanna Konta (8) vs. Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is back. Prior to this week, she hadn’t won a match since last year’s Western & Southern Open. For years, her career has been interrupted by injuries, child birth, and a custody battle. However, after four decisive wins without dropping a set, she’s into only her third semifinal since March of 2016. A former champion of this event, Vika is looking to reach the final for the first time since she raised the trophy in 2013. But doing so will be no easy task, as her opponent has dominated all comers this week. Johanna Konta is also yet to drop a set, and is yet to be broken in six sets played. We’ve seen this before from the British No.1: when her serve is at its best, she is difficult to derail. Konta owns a 2-1 record against Azarenka, though one of those victories came when Vika retired due to injury. With Konta serving the way she is on these fast courts, I like her chances to reach Saturday’s final.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) vs. Milos Raonic
Tsitsipas has plenty of experience this week in looking up to his opponent. He’s already defeated three of the tallest men in the sport: Kevin Anderson, John Isner, and Reilly Opelka. And now he faces the big-serving Canadian, who has hit 58 aces in seven sets to this stage. Raonic almost didn’t make it to this semifinal, as he was forced to come from behind and save a match point against a red-hot Filip Krajinovic on Wednesday. The only previous meeting between these two happened earlier this year, with Raonic winning in straight sets at the Australian Open. On similarly fast-playing courts in New York, a confident Milos should be favored to repeat that feat.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Roberto Bautista Agut (8) Having recovered from the neck pain that forced him to withdraw from doubles earlier this week, Djokovic has continued his fine form of 2020. The world No.1 is 21-0 this season, with titles at all three events he played prior to the pandemic. And while he’s the favorite to win again today, Bautista Agut is fully capable of the upset. Roberto already came back from a set down to beat two top-tier opponents this week, in Russians Karen Khachanov and Daniil Medvedev. And the Spaniard has claimed three of his last six matches against Djokovic, with all three wins coming on hard courts in the best-of-three format. This will easily be the steepest challenge Novak has faced this week, and he will surely have the memory of last year’s Cincinnati semifinals in his mind, when Daniil Medvedev hit him right off the court after being a set down. However, Djokovic’s defensive and returning skills should enable him to persevere and advance to his seventh championship match at this event.
