NEW YORK, NY, USA - A pair of 19-year-olds joined Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters in the US Open semifinals on Wednesday, both prevailing in their respective quarterfinal matches in straight sets.
Yanina Wickmayer was the first to move through to the final four with a 75 64 win over Kateryna Bondarenko. Wickmayer won a tight first set against Bondarenko then went completely off, falling behind 1-4, even facing a point for 1-5 in the second set; but she regrouped well, and Bondarenko went passive, and the big-hitting Belgian teenager roared back to move through.
"For sure it's the first great Grand Slam I've played," Wickmayer said after the match. "When you get to the third or fourth round you start surprising yourself, but I've actually been staying pretty calm. I've worked really hard for this. Every match I win, I'm really excited and really happy to be here."
Wickmayer had never been beyond the second round at any Grand Slam in her career before this fortnight. Bondarenko had never been past the third round.
"I was playing well these two weeks and had a good result," Bondarenko said. "It was the first time a female from Ukraine got to the quarters of a Grand Slam, so I'm happy with the result. I wasn't playing badly - she was playing well."
Caroline Wozniacki, at No.9 the only seeded player remaining on her half of the draw as of the quarters, rounded out the semifinal line-up with a 62 62 win over American Melanie Oudin at night. It was a much different match-up for Oudin, who had taken out a foursome of big-hitting Russians in her first four matches - Wozniacki outfoxed Oudin with clever angles and that big backhand.
"It was a really tough match for me against Melanie. She has had such a great run, such an amazing tournament. It's always tough to play a home favorite," said Wozniacki, who is the first Dane in the Open Era, male or female, to reach the semis of a Grand Slam (although Kurt Nielsen was a Wimbledon men's singles runner-up in 1953 and 1955). "I just tried to use the energy from the crowd and convert it into good tennis. I'm happy I fought so well today."
"Caroline played a really good match. I started off slowly and wasn't able to come back," Oudin said. "She's such a strong player. She just doesn't give you anything for free. She made me hit a thousand balls and I don't know what else I could have done... I was a little too impatient, but she played a great match.
"The whole experience here has been a whirlwind. There have been so many great things I've learned from here. All of the experiences, the matches I played, I'll remember all of it."
Wozniacki and Wickmayer have never played before. In the other semi, which was determined on Tuesday, Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters will duke it out. Williams leads that head-to-head, 7-1. The semifinals will take the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday, with the final scheduled for Saturday night.
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