Second seed Aryna Sabalenka staged a Grand Slam fight back for the ages to rock Madison Keys 0-6 7-6(1) 7-6(5) on Thursday to deny the home crowd the all-American U.S. Open women’s final they had been dreaming of.
Sabalenka will now try to heap even more disappointment on U.S. tennis fans in Saturday’s final when she takes on Coco Gauff, who beat Karolina Muchova 6-4 7-5 in a match halted for nearly an hour when an environmental activist glued his feet to the floor of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
A giddy capacity crowd waving U.S. flags were ready to celebrate getting the final they hoped for when Keys bageled the Belarusian in the opening set and was 5-3 up in the second, serving for a spot in the final.
Her fight back began by breaking Keys to get back to 5-4 and continuing the match. It would end two tie-breaks later with the Belarusian walking off court into her second Grand Slam final of the season.
In a contest featuring two of the biggest hitters in the women’s game, it was Keys coming out with guns blazing to dominate the Belarusian, who will take over as world number one when the rankings are updated on Monday.
