Sabalenka battles back to beat Noskova and reach US Open semi-finals

Aryna Sabalenka thought she had lost her US Open crown before leaving herself "speechless" as she battled back to beat Linda Noskova in three sets and advance to the semi-finals.

Taken to a deciding set for the first time in this year's tournament, the two-time defending champion trailed 4-2 in the third set and later 2-0 in the tie-break before recovering to close out a 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 7-6 (10-7) win in a little under two and a half hours.

It was the 28-year-old's 19th consecutive win at the tournament, having not tasted defeat since the 2023 final, while she becomes the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach six successive semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.

Victory also sees her temporarily keep hold of her world number one ranking, though she will be overtaken at the top regardless of how she fares in the remainder the tournament if world number two Elena Rybakina beats Zheng Qinwen on Wednesday.

Asked if she would be happy if she retained her US Open title but Rybakina replaced her at the head of the standings, Sabalenka said: "I'll be more than happy. Three-peat - sounds great."

"I'm just super happy that I put myself in the position where I have chance to go for the three-peat, even though I'm still far away from that."

Sabalenka will next face either American third seed Jessica Pegula or her compatriot Emma Navarro, seeded 26th, as she bids to reach a fourth consecutive US Open final.

The Belarusian has a history of letting her emotions get the better of her, most recently in her quarter-final defeat from a set up at the French Open.

But as in her previous match against Taylor Townsend, when she had her serve broken four times and trailed 3-1 in the second set, Sabalenka showed impressive composure to emerge victorious against Wimbledon champion Noskova, suggesting she may have turned a corner.

"I'm speechless right now. I was pushing to the limit in this match, especially in the third set," said Sabalenka.

"I honestly thought that that's it, the match is over, but probably that's what helped me to feel loose and go after my shots. [I'm] super happy to get the win."

Sabalenka began the match in cruise control, breaking in sixth seed Noskova's opening service game and racing into a 5-2 lead, before being broken as she served for the set.

Although she dominated the subsequent tie-break, the double fault she hit in her last service game – one of four in the match – would prove a feature of her performance, as would her failure to convert break points.

She wasted three early in the second set before conceding a break in the sixth game with a double fault at 30-40 as Noskova forced a decider.

After hitting two more double faults to be broken for a third time, she looked down and out after Noskova held to love for a 4-2 lead, but won the next three games to turn the match around.

She then won the tie-break - for a 10th successive time at the US Open, in a run dating back to 2021 - to complete her comeback, sealing the victory with a nerveless second-serve ace.

This was only Sabalenka's second quarter-final victory since March, with the top seed unable to replicate her early season hard-court success – which included titles in Brisbane, Indian Wells and Miami – on the clay or grass.

She suffered last-16 exits in Toronto and Cincinnati in the build-up to the US Open, but has rediscovered something approaching her best form at the tournament where she is yet to lose a quarter-final in six attempts.

"I have to say that knowing that physically my body can handle these matches again, I'm super happy with that," Sabalenka said.

"And of course, these kind of tight matches give you so much confidence that you're back and you're ready to do anything it takes to get the win. So this match definitely gives me a boost of energy and motivation."

For Noskova, this defeat, during which she hit more winners, fewer unforced errors, and saved seven of her nine break points, ends a run of 11 consecutive singles wins at Grand Slams.