Dabrowski, Routliffe advance to U.S. Open semifinals; wild-card Fernandez, Williams ride ends

Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe are one step closer to a second U.S. Open women’s doubles title.

The third seeds rallied Tuesday to defeat the 11th-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.

In a later quarterfinal match, the wild-card ride finally ended for the women’s doubles pairing of Canada’s Leylah Fernandez and American legend Venus Williams. Top-seeded American Taylor Townsend and partner Katerina Siniakova of Czech Republic beat Fernandez and Williams 6-1, 6-2 in a 57-minute quarterfinal match on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Dabrowski and Routliffe, the 2023 U.S. Open champions, steadied after a shaky start to swing the momentum in the second set.

WATCH | Dabrowski and Routliffe rally into women’s doubles semifinal:

Tied 4-4 in the middle set, Dabrowski and Routliffe only surrendered one point — a forced error — en route to taking the lead. The duo claimed the set in the next game thanks to a forehand winner, two unforced errors from their opponents and then a backhand volley winner.

They converted two of four break chances, while Babos and Stefani managed just three of eight.

The Canadian-Kiwi duo will meet the winner of the quarterfinal between Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini and the team of Asia Muhammad of the United States and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands.

Fernandez and Williams, playing doubles together for the first time, ran into an experienced team that showed why it’s ranked No. 1 in the world.

WATCH | Fernandez, Williams ousted in women’s doubles by top-ranked duo:

Fernandez and Williams eliminated from doubles play at U.S. Open quarterfinals

Tennis legend Venus Williams and Canada’s Leylah Fernandez run at the U.S. Open came to an end in the quarterfinals Tuesday as they fell 6-1, 6-2 to Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend.

Townsend and Siniakova finished with two aces, 11 unforced errors and a first serve points won percentage of 74. They also won five of eight return games, and reeled off 11 points in a row at one stage in the match.

Fernandez and Williams had no aces, 25 unforced errors, three double faults and a first serve points won percentage of 61.

Alcaraz muscles past Lehecka, cruises into semis

Carlos Alcaraz finger-wagged the crowd, beat Jiri Lehecka to the net and cruised into the semifinals at the U.S. Open.

The second-seeded Spaniard beat Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, making some highlight-reel shots and putting his hand to his ear afterward to encourage more cheers from fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It’s his first hard-court semifinal appearance at a major since winning his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open in 2023.

“I kind of met the Grand Slam version of Carlos,” Lehecka said from New York City. “He just showed that he is one of the contenders, for sure. Everyone knew that, and he proved that.”

Alcaraz is just 22 years old and is in the semifinals at a major for the ninth time. Only Rafael Nadal with 10 has more before turning 23.

Next up for Alcaraz is either Taylor Fritz or Novak Djokovic, who knocked him out of the Australian Open in the quarterfinals. Alcaraz would supplant Jannik Sinner. whom he lost to in the Wimbledon final and beat in the French Open final, atop the rankings if he wins the U.S. Open for a second time.

“It’s really difficult not to think about it,” Alcaraz said. “Every time that I step on the court, I am trying not to think about it. If I think about the No. 1 spot too much, I think I’m going to put pressure on myself and I just don’t want to do that. I just want to step on the court, try to do my things, try to follow my goals in the match and try to enjoy as much as I can. The No. 1 is there, but I’m trying not to think so much about it.”

Before facing Fritz or Djokovic on Friday night, Alcaraz plans to play golf Wednesday with 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia. He thinks his countryman owes him more than a few strokes.

“He has to give me at least between 10 and 15 shots,” Alcaraz said. “It’s going to be great. I’m not that good, Sergio, come on.”

Hard court a recipe for success

Jessica Pegula broke through her quarterfinal wall again at the U.S. Open, defeating Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-3 to get to the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament for just the second time in her career.

Pegula failed to advance into the semis in her first 22 main draw appearances at a major before reaching the final at Flushing Meadows a year ago, when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka. They’ll meet again in the semifinals on Thursday after Sabalenka advanced in a walkover when Marketa Vondrousova withdrew because of injury.

Pegula, who was eliminated in the fourth round at the Australian Open, the third round at the French Open and the first round at Wimbledon, is the first woman to make back-to-back U.S. Open semifinals without losing a set since Serena Williams from 2011-14.

“I’ve been able to kind of go into those matches and really take care of business,” Pegula said. “I’ve played good players but [posted] convincing wins over those players.”

Pegula, 31, is seeded fourth at the U.S. Open and aiming for her first Grand Slam championship. She and No. 8 Amanda Anisimova are the only Americans left in the women’s singles field.

Krejcikova knocked out one of them, Taylor Townsend, who failed to convert eight match points when they met in the quarterfinals on Sunday. Pegula was not perfect, but she played well enough to stay in control at all times and broke Krejcikova one final time to end the match in under 90 minutes — on her first match point attempt.

Being back on hard courts at the U.S. Open has been a recipe for success. She has not yet lost a set.

“I think I’ve been playing some really good tennis,” Pegula said. “I’ve just been playing very solid. I’ve been having very good quick starts, so I really wanted to do that today, especially against someone like [Krejcikova] who’s very dangerous.”

Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez are set to play in the women’s doubles quarterfinals, a match scheduled for 5:40 p.m. ET. Sabalenka’s match is set for Tuesday night, followed by American Taylor Fritz against four-time U.S. Open champion Novak Djokovic

Who is on Wednesday’s schedule?

Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and Alex de Minaur of Australia open the action Wednesday on Ashe at 11:30 a.m. ET, followed by Anisimova against second-seeded Iga Swiatek, scheduled for 1:10 p.m. Naomi Osaka, fresh off beating Coco Gauff, faces Karolina Muchova to open the night session at 7, followed by men’s No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner against fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti at 8:10.

Drake puts $300K US on Sinner to win tourney

Drake is betting big on Jannik Sinner, wagering $300,000 US on the top-ranked men’s tennis player in the world to win the U.S. Open.

The so-called Drake Curse has been blamed for several losses over the past few years, including $210,000 on American Taylor Fritz to beat Sinner in the 2024. U.S. Open final. According to a website tracking Drake’s announced bets and the curse, he is down $115,000 on tennis after cutting his losses by successfully picking Sinner to win the Australian Open final in January.

Sinner is in the quarterfinals after routing Alexander Bublik in their fourth-round match. The 24-year-old next faces fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti and is the betting favourite on BetMGM Sportsbook.