US Open Day 12 - Top two set up blockbuster women’s final

Catherine Whitaker (0:10)

Hello, and welcome to The Tennis Podcast, coming to you from Flushing Meadows on Women's Semifinals Night at the US. Open, a night which saw the New York celebrities really show up and show out. David learned a lot of new names tonight of singers and rappers that he was not previously aware of. And let's be honest, most of them were in the house hoping to see at least one, if not two, American victories. And they right now are leaving disappointed because what they've seen tonight is the two best players in the world stepping up and showing why they are just that. First off, Aryna Sabalenka with a breathtaking performance to beat Jessica Pegula in straight sets. And lastly, Elena Rybakina gritting her teeth to battle past Coco Gauff in three nail-biting sets. Two very different matches tonight, David, setting up a pretty tasty world number one grudge match on Saturday. Or at least that's what I hope it's going to be.

David Law (1:14)

Yeah, that's our spin on it anyway. Let's hope it lives up to that. But I would be surprised if it's not a good final. Put it that way based on the previous ones they've had.

They were very different. Sabalenka was imperious. That is the best she has played in many months. You'd have to go back to the springtime, the sunshine double. I think Jessica Pegula wasn't terrible, but she just couldn't live with that.

I think Coco Gauff probably should have won tonight. I felt like she should have got there before Rybakina really found a form. But once Rybakina had found a form, they went in opposite directions. That was the problem for Gauff. But all credit to these players who come into the Arthrash Stadium and barely have anybody cheering for them, and they're the ones who walk out winning.

Catherine Whitaker (2:07)

All credit to them and definitely not to us.

David Law (2:11)

Well done, guys.

Matt Roberts (2:12)

We nailed it.

We absolutely nailed it last night with our Pegula and Gauff predictions.

The alarm bells were ringing, weren't they? It was like, guys, you're all picking against the number one and the number two, all picking against the two players that have played the Australian Open final against each other, the Indian Wells final, the WTA Finals final. They're pretty good at these hardcore things, Sabalenka and Rybakina. And we went vibes, and the home story, and we got it wrong. We were close for Coco Gauff. I do really do think that one was in the balance, and as David said, there was a world where Coco Gauff gets that done in straight sets tonight, I think. But well off with Pegula, because Sabalenka was absolutely awesome.

Catherine Whitaker (3:02)

Let's start off with that Gauff match, shall we? Rybakina beating Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Talk us through the match and why Coco Gauff didn't get this done in straight sets.

David Law (3:14)

Yeah, first set, I thought that Rybakina's game was off, to be honest, and the sheer number of unforced errors in the statistics line would tell you that.

She was all over the place. At one point, she'd hit 20 unforced-error backhands to seven of golfs. And I realized that they're hitting a different number or a different velocity of shots. But those were the raw facts.

And it seemed to me that Rybakina came out a bit frozen. She just didn't really have any timing. I thought part of that was caused by Gauff just playing a very secure brand of tennis. She was hitting deep. She was hitting regularly close to the lines and just not missing much, you know. And she was hitting well. She was serving well. Everything was just functioning well for Gauff. And Rybakina, being short of her best, was spraying it all over the place.

And I did wonder whether she'd be able to gather herself freely in the second set. But she did. She raced off into a 4-1 lead. Did Rybakina in the second set. And then it looked like we're going to be quick fire into a deciding set. Gauff gets it back to 4-all. It feels right in the balance then. And then the forehand just started to desert Coco Gauff. And I mean, I wrote down she's having to work around her forehand for basically a set and a half of the match. Just kind of like figure out ways either not to hit a forehand or hit a slice forehand because she doesn't trust it to hit it properly or loop it. Now, part of that is strategic, but I felt it ended up becoming, how do I just not lose this match because of my forehand? And she nearly did it.