Swiatek, Sabalenka into US Open semi-finals

Iga Swiatek reached her third Grand Slam semi-final of 2022 on Wednesday and first at the US Open with an error-strewn triumph over Jessica Pegula, the last remaining American woman in the tournament.

French Open champion Swiatek claimed a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) win, her third against Pegula this year.

In Thursday's semi-final, the 21-year-old Pole will face Aryna Sabalenka who she has also got the better of on three occasions this season.

World number six Sabalenka made the last-four for a second successive year with a 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) victory over former finalist Karolina Pliskova.

IGA SWIATEK IS INTO THE SEMIS pic.twitter.com/0ylzbW3bgT

"That will be a very tough match. There will be some fast serves and heavy hitting, just like tonight," said Swiatek who beat Sabalenka in Doha, Stuttgart and Rome.

The Pole went onto win the titles at those events, three of her six trophies collected in 2022.

On Wednesday, she came through a mistake-plagued quarter-final which featured 13 breaks of serve and a combined 61 unforced errors.

"It means a lot to be in the semi-finals for the first time," said Swiatek.

Swiatek overcame giving up the first break of the match in the fifth game to reel off 16 of the next 18 points to claim the opening set in 38 minutes.

The pair exchanged three service breaks apiece in the first eight games in an untidy second set.

It was the French Open champion who carved out the seventh break on a net cord to give herself the opportunity to serve for the match.

'Low expectations'

Eighth-ranked Pegula roused herself to stay alive before a double fault on break point in the 11th game handed Swiatek a second opportunity to seal a spot in the semi-finals.

The top seed failed again as Pegula grabbed the 10th break to send the set into