(Tennis news) World Number 1 and French Open champion Iga Swiatek progressed into the semi finals of the US Open after defeating Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-6 (7-4) at Arthur Ashe. The result means that Swiatek will now take on Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday for a spot in the final despite her form being far from her best. However, the Polish tennis player has only dropped a single set in the tournament so far but will need to step up in order to secure the Grand Slam trophy.

Speaking after the match, Swiatek said “I wasn't expecting this at the beginning of the tournament. I'm really working hard and trying to keep my expectations low. Today was such a tough match and I think the level was great, so I'm pretty happy that I handled it. I knew even though I'm breaking her that it's not like in men's matches where they are going to finish with their serve. So, I was trying to push her back but she's really good at receiving so she put pressure on me, which is why it ended up in a tiebreaker." 

As for Pegula, it has been a case of so close yet so far. The American has reached the quarter-finals thrice already this year but is yet to progress beyond it. She made a break for 3-2 during the opening set but Swiatek made a comeback from 30-0 down, dropping only two points after that. In the second set, both the players had periods of momentum with Swiatek breaking serve five times, only to be pegged back by Pegula on each occasion. Swiatek was given a time violation in the fifth game while Pegula was given a warning for smacking the ball into the stands because of frustration after another break for 4-3. However, Swiatek was on the front foot more often than not and eventually secured the win in the quarter-final.

Also read: Caroline Garcia defeats Coco Gauff to reach US Open semi-final