Sixth seed Jessica Pegula progressed to her first-ever Grand Slam semi-finals after knocking out world number one Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 at the US Open 2024 women's singles quarters on Thursday (September 5). This is Pegula's first Major quarter-final victory in her seventh attempt. (Full Coverage | More Tennis News)
"I've been (to the quarter-finals) so many freaking times -- I just kept losing," Pegula said after the win. "Finally, I can say 'semi-finalist!' I knew I could do it," she added.
The result guaranteed that US Open 2024 will feature multiple American men and women in the semi-finals, the first time that has happened since 2003 (Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick; Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati). Pegula joins Emma Navarro as two American women in the US Open semi-finals for the second straight year. Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe had earlier advanced to the men's semi-finals.
The Swiatek service faltered repeatedly in the first set and her forehand was an area of concern, as 22 of the numero uno player's 41 unforced errors came on that side. Pegula committed only 22 unforced errors in all and defended strongly to keep forcing Swiatek to go for out-and-out winners.
It was Swiatek and Pegula's first meeting of the season and the first since the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancun. Going into the quarter-final match, neither woman had lost a set in the tournament yet, but it was the American who came out triumphant. This is the fourth time Pegula has beaten Swiatek in 10 career meetings, and the first since the 2023 Omnium Banque Nationale.
The 30-year-old American will take on last year's semifinalist Karolina Muchova for a place in her maiden Grand Slam final. Muchova had entered the semi-finals after defeating Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 6-4 earlier in the day.
Pegula has now won 14 of her last 15 matches on tour. She clinched her second title of the season last month at the National Bank Open in Toronto and finished as runner-up at the Cincinnati Open. It has been an incredible summer surge for Pegula, who had to skip four WTA 1000s in the first half of the year as well as the French Open with an injury.
