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RESHAPING after Swiatek defeat

Jessica Pegula on Wednesday became the fourth American to reach the semifinals of the US Open this year, defeating world number one Iga Swiatek, while Jack Draper reached the last four of his Grand Slam tournaments.

Pegula defeated 2022 champion and four-time Roland Garros winner Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the majors for the first time after losing in the quarter-finals six times.

The 30-year-old will now face Karolina Muchova from the Czech Republic.

If she gets through there, it would set up an all-American title fight if Emma Navarro defeats world number two Aryna Sabalenka in the other semi-final on Thursday.

Draper meanwhile became the first Briton to reach the last four since Andy Murray won the title 12 years ago by beating Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.

The 25th-seeded player will face either world number one Jannik Sinner or 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev for a spot in Sunday’s championship match.

Pegula has won 14 times in 15 matches on American hard courts this summer.

“Finally I can say I’m a semifinalist. I’ve lost so many damn things,” the American said after her fourth career win against Swiatek.

“Thanks to the crowd. I sent a second serve of over 65 mph (on a third match point) because I was so tight.

“I did everything I could to not get frustrated. I took advantage of some of the things she wasn’t doing so well and just went with that momentum.”

Swiatek lost his position due to 41 unforced errors.

Draper claimed victory over No. 10 De Minaur despite taking a medical timeout early in the second set and having his right thigh bandaged.

“It’s amazing. My first time in Arthur Ashe Stadium, it means the world to me,” said Draper, who had lost three times in three meetings with De Minaur before Wednesday.

“I played a solid match and I feel fitter than ever.”

Draper reached the semi-finals without dropping a set, continuing his impressive run from last summer, which saw him win his first ATP title in Stuttgart and then beat Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s Club on the eve of Wimbledon.

On Wednesday he hit 11 aces in his 40 winning games and forced De Minaur to fend off 14 of 20 break points.

The British player holds a 1-0 lead over Sinner in the pair’s head-to-head matches, although that victory at Queen’s came three years ago. He lost to Medvedev on clay in Rome earlier this year.

Sinner is the only player from the top four still in the men’s rankings, after the withdrawals of Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev.

However, he has not yet reached the last four in New York and his qualities will be tested by number five Medvedev.

Sinner defeated Medvedev from two sets down to win his first major at the Australian Open in January, before the erratic Russian took revenge at Wimbledon.

“I will try to think more about Wimbledon than the Australian Open,” said Medvedev, who was also runner-up at the US Open in 2019 and 2023.

With Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz already booked for the US men’s semi-final on Friday, and Navarro and Pegula safely placed in the women’s last four, home fans are dreaming of taking the title this weekend.

Andy Roddick was the last American to win a Grand Slam singles trophy in New York in 2003, while Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff have triumphed in the women’s tournament in the past decade.

Muchova won 6-1, 6-4 against Beatriz Haddad Maia despite having to sprint to the toilet early in the second set, a sprint that caught everyone off guard.

“I had a problem that I didn’t want to talk about,” the 28-year-old said. “Sorry if I bothered anyone, but I really had no other choice.”

After losing to eventual champion Coco Gauff in the 2023 semifinals, Muchova suffered a serious wrist injury that kept her out until June this year.

Muchova, a former world number eight and now 52, ​​has yet to lose a set, having defeated two-time champion Naomi Osaka and Jasmine Paolini, the number two at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.