NEW YORK — When things suddenly got quite tight in the second set of Aryna Sabalenka’s U.S. Open semifinal, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium spectators suddenly got quite loud while supporting her American opponent, the 2023 runner-up found herself flashing back to a year ago at the same site.
“I was like, ‘OK, Aryna, you have to stay focused. Stay in your thoughts. Focus on yourself,’” Sabalenka said. “And, yeah, I was thinking a lot.”
The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka moved into her second consecutive final at Flushing Meadows with a strong start and a late surge, taking the last seven points to beat Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6 (2) on Thursday night with her usual brand of high-risk, high-reward tennis.
Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus who won each of the past two Australian Opens, came up a victory short of claiming the championship in New York a year ago, when she lost to Coco Gauff in front of a rowdy partisan crowd.
This time, Sabalenka got past another American opponent, the 13th-seeded Navarro — and never let the fans play too much of a role until things got interesting down the stretch. Knowing she would be facing a player from the U.S. in this semifinal, Sabalenka joked after her previous match she would try to sway them to her side by buying booze, saying, “Drinks on me tonight?”
Navarro did not fold in the second set, despite trailing for much of it, and as the noise around her grew, she broke when Sabalenka served for the victory at 5-4. But in the tiebreaker that followed, Sabalenka took over after Navarro led 2-0, grabbing every point that remained.
Sabalenka will play for the trophy on Saturday against yet another American, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, or unseeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. The Pegula-Muchova semifinal began later Thursday under the Ashe lights on a cool evening with only the slightest breeze.
For Muchova, it was her fourth appearance in the final four at a Grand Slam tournament, including runs to that stage in New York and to the final of the French Open last year. Pegula had been 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals until eliminating No. 1 Iga Swiatek, a five-time major champion, in straight sets Wednesday night.
“I’m ready to face whoever,” Sabalenka said. “Lesson from last year learned. I really hope I’m going to do a little bit better than I did last year.”
Navarro, who defeated Gauff in the fourth round, is a 23-year-old who was born in New York, grew up in South Carolina and won an NCAA singles title for the University of Virginia in 2021. This was her debut in a Slam semifinal and, while she displayed the skills and steadiness that carried her there, Navarro was not able to keep up with Sabalenka, who was playing in that round at a major for the ninth time.
If Sabalenka is as demonstrative as can be, often holding a fist aloft and screaming after a big point or rolling her eyes after a miss, Navarro is far more subdued, rarely, if ever, betraying a hint of emotion, whether positive or negative.
Even when she broke to 5-all late, there wasn’t really any way to tell what had just happened by looking at Navarro. The sounds from the seats were an indication. But soon, thousands of ticket-holders were saluting Sabalenka for her latest show of mastery on a hard court.
“Well, guys, now you are cheering for me,” she with a laugh during her on-court interview. “Well, it’s a bit too late.”
From 2-all in the opening set, Sabalenka reeled off three games in a row to wrest control of that set, repeatedly hitting shots out of Navarro’s reach, often accompanied by a yell. By the end of the contest, Sabalenka had produced 34 winners and 34 unforced errors — and in a fitting bit of symmetry, Navarro had 13 winners and 13 unforced errors.
Sabalenka showed she is not simply a swing-from-the-heels power player, even if that is the foundation of her game.
She delivered one optimally timed return winner to help break for a 4-2 lead early. She offered up two terrifically delicate drop shots to earn points later in that set. When Navarro failed to get a return in play off a 100 mph serve, Sabalenka was halfway to the win.
A break to go up 3-2 seemingly put Sabalenka in charge of the second set, too, but Navarro made a stand. In the end, it wasn’t enough.
