Right, so I'm way late in covering anything on the final major of the tennis season that is the US Open and in this post I will look at the ladies semi finals matches and also a look ahead to the final and who might emerge the winner.
But first let's take a quick look at how the seeds tumbled so far...
SEEDS OUT
Well, its been a real upset of a tournament once more with alot of the top seeds falling short early on and to kick off, Angelique Kerber was the first heavy casualty, the defending champion, who this year has struggled badly in her form. Kerber took on Naomi Osaka of Japan in the 1st round and she found herself on the losing end to the 19 year old Osaka and was dumped out in straight sets in a shock loss and nabbing only four games before her defeat came in 6-3, 6-1.
Simona Halep also suffered an early exit as she was handed the ultimate nightmare first round opponent in Maria Sharapova, who was playing her first grand slam match since her doping ban had ended. Simona would have been in contention for the No.1 spot at the start of the tournament, however Maria swiftly took her out of contention as she went on to defeat Halep in three sets and announce herself back to the tour.
Johanna Konta, the British No.1 and 7th seed, who has been tipped as a potential future slam winner, also fell at the first hurdle as she took on the Serbian player, Aleksandra Krunic, who stunned Konta in three sets.
Caroline Wozniacki also suffered an early loss in the 2nd round as she played the known giant killer, Ekaterina Makarova, who battled the former World No.1 and went on to defeat the Dane in three sets to reach the 3rd round and end Wozniacki's chances of winning her maiden slam for another year.
Svetlana Kuznetsova also went out early in the tournament as she took on Kurumi Nara of Japan and the two of the battled it out in a three setter that saw the Japanese player emerge the winner with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
Agnieszka Radwanska was another casualty who suffered an early exit in the 3rd round as was up against one of the American hopes, Coco Vandeweghe and the two of them were locked in a tense battle that went the distance but in the end, Coco was the stronger player who came through in 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
Jelena Ostapenko, this year's surprise French open champion, also went out in the 3rd round as she faced off Daria Kasatkina of Russia and Ostapenko, who seen to be struggling physically during the match, was beaten in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to end her major season.
Elena Svitolina, one of the favourites for the title this year, also suffered defeat at the tournament in the 4th round as she faced off against Madison Keys, one of the (many!) American hopes. Svitolina, however put up a strong fight before she finally lost out to Keys in three sets, who won 7-6, 1-6, 6-4.
And last of all and one of the biggest surprise exits was Garbine Muguruza, the reigning Wimbledon champion, who faced Petra Kvitova in the 4th round, who had made her return to the tour only a few months ago after being the victim of a knife attack early this year. Muguruza was actually considered the heavy favourite to win the title in New York, however Petra went on to stun the Spaniard with her powerful attacking game that saw Murguruza dispatch in straight sets 7-6, 6-3. Despite this loss however, Muguruza will claim the World No.1 ranking as of next week.
QUARTER FINAL OPPONENTS OUT AND SEMI FINALS
Right well I've skipped to the semi finals, which saw four defeats on the way there to the last four, which I will quickly mention them. First up, Karolina Pliskova took on Coco Vandeweghe and the current World No.1, Pliskova, suffered an upset defeat as Coco beat her 7-6, 6-3. Kaia Kanepi, who was unseeded in this event, also went out to the 15h seed, Madison Keys who dispatched Kanepi in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Petra Kvitova next up lost out to Venus Williams, the former two time champion in a thrilling three set battle that saw Petra force Venus into a deciding tiebreak, which Venus won to claim her spot in the semis with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 victory. And last of all Anastasija Sevastova of Lativa, took on Sloane Stephens and lost to the American in another tough three set match, which also went to a deciding tiebreak, despite Sevastova being a break up in the 3rd set, Stephens broke back and went on to claim the match in the breaker with another 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 result.
As for the semi finals, well let's take a look at them.
Venus Williams vs Sloane Stephens
This was an all American semi final match (and also an all African-American match!) which saw Venus Williams take on Sloane Stephens, who was on the comeback after having foot surgery and was under a protected ranking going into the US Open. However the match itself was a rather topsy turvey one, which saw both players split the first two sets with a breadstick and a bagel dished out by Sloane and Venus respectively. However the 3rd set was a different affair altogether as both ladies battled it out in a tight decider that finally saw Stephens cause the upset and deny Venus a chance of reaching her 3rd slam final of the season as the younger Stephens won the match with a 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 scoreline.
Madison Keys vs Coco Vandeweghe
And the second semi final saw yet another all American semi between Madison Keys and Coco Vandeweghe. However this match was a much quicker one that saw the 15th seeded, Keys dominated Coco from the beginning as she bossed her and took the first set with a triple break. And the 2nd set was more of the same as Keys broke Coco twice and she confidently served out the match to reach her first grand slam final with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 victory.
THE FINAL PREDICTION
Right well, so that sets up the ladies final between Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys and this is an intriuging match up as they have only played once before and that two years ago and the match was won by Stephens. However quite a bit has changed since then and Madison has gone into this tournament with more matchplay under her belt given that Stephens has been on the comeback after her foot surgery. However (again) this doesn't mean that Keys is necessarily the favourite in this instance as Stephens already has that one win over her.
So how will this one go??? Well I've not really seen either player in action a great deal before but from what I've seen I would have to go with Keys on this one as I just think with her having more matches under her belt this year, it will give her more of an advantage in this match over Stephens. However at the same time, Stephens does have the benefit of that one victory over Keys, so this could also be a deciding factor.
But in the end I have to side with Keys as I just think she might have the edge in this one although I can't confidently say why but that's just my gut feeling, but again I might be completely wrong. So, I will go with Keys winning this one in a close three set match.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back real soon with my look at the men's tournament so far.
Till then its bye for now!
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