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Venus Williams will be the sentimental favorite
when the 37-year-old takes on Sloane Stephens in one semi-final
before Madison Keys battles it out with CoCo Vandeweghe in the
other.
It is the first time since Wimbledon 1985 that four American
women have featured in a grand slam semi-finals, and the first
time since 1981 at the U.S. Open.
A trip to Saturday's final and perhaps a third U.S. Open crown
16 years after she last hoisted the trophy would cap a
renaissance season for the ninth seeded Williams that has also
seen her make the finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
For everyone else it will be a new pressure-packed experience as
they make their maiden appearances in the Flushing Meadows
semi-finals.
No player was more surprised to find themselves in the last four
than Stephens, who just six weeks ago was ranked outside the top
950 in the world.
Sidelined for almost a year after undergoing foot surgery,
Stephens returned at Wimbledon and has been on a tear ever
since, knocking off 11th seed Dominika Cibulkova, 30th seed
Julia Goerges and 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova en route to the
final four.
The other semi will see Keys, another player making a surprising
run for the title after coming back from injury, going up
against Vandeweghe in a battle of big-hitters.
Keys, who missed the first two months of the season recovering
from wrist surgery, is peaking at the right time and blazed into
the her semi-final with a 69 minute 6-3 6-3 dismantling of
Estonia's Kaia Kanepi.
Vandeweghe, meanwhile, underlined her contender status by taking
down world number one Karolina Pliskova in straight sets.
The two players have met twice already this season with Keys
winning both times.
(Reporting by Steve Keating. Editing by Nick Mulvenney)
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