For the first time since distant 1981, the US Open will have four American players in the semifinals, as Madison Keys joined compatriots Coco Vandeweghe, Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens in the final four.
In the last women’s quarterfinal, the 15th-seeded Keys recorded a confident victory over Estonian Kaia Kanepi, who does have experience in Grand Slam quarterfinals, but who went all the way through qualifying this year, using special ranking of No.196, instead of her actual ranking of No.418.
Early in the first set, Kanepi threatened Keys’ serve, but the American saved those break points and went on to establish a 4-1 lead, that her opponent never caught up with.