Swiatek fought back from a one-set deficit, as well as from a break down in the third set twice, before edging No.6 seed Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in a 2-hour, 11-minute semifinal showdown on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Swiatek, who had never made a US Open quarterfinal before this season, is now into her third career Grand Slam final, her second of the year and first off the red clay of Roland Garros. Swiatek is 2-0 in Grand Slam finals in her career. She won in Paris in 2020 and earlier this year.
It's Iga vs. Ons: Swiatek will now meet No.5 seed Ons Jabeur in Saturday’s women’s singles final after Jabeur breezed past No.17 seed Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-3 in the night’s first semifinal. Swiatek and Jabeur are No.1 and No.2 in match-wins this season.
The head-to-head between Swiatek and Jabeur is deadlocked at two wins apiece, and they are 1-1 on hard courts. In their only meeting this season, Swiatek prevailed in the Rome final on clay 6-2, 6-2.
Preserving the lead: On Thursday night, Swiatek fought hard to maintain the lead she currently holds in her rivalry with Sabalenka. Sabalenka won their first meeting at last year’s WTA Finals, but Swiatek has now won all four of their matches this season.
Their previous meetings this year had all been routine straight-set wins for Swiatek, but this one went down to the wire. Sabalenka led by 2-0 and 4-2 in the third set, but Swiatek took the last four games of the match.
For Sabalenka, it marks her third narrow loss in a Grand Slam semifinal. Sabalenka fell in the same round at 2021 Wimbledon and the 2021 US Open -- and she lost each of those matches 6-4 in the third.
Match moments: Sabalenka took a critical lead in the opener by converting her fourth break point of the 2-2 game with an error-forcing forehand. A sturdy volley gave Sabalenka a second break and the one-set advantage.
However, Swiatek brought her power plays to the fore in the second set, breaking Sabalenka at love in the opening game. Backing her big shots up with improved defense, Swiatek rolled through that set to level the match.
After an early exchange of breaks in the third set, a volley winner gave Sabalenka a key break for 3-2, and after consolidating, she was two games away from her first major final. But Swiatek bided her time and broke back at love for 4-4, wrapping up that game with a backhand crosscourt winner.
At 5-4, a resurgent Swiatek finished off a rally with a winning overhead to reach 0-40 and triple-match point. A forehand winner by Sabalenka saved the first, but on the second, Sabalenka’s backhand found the net.
Swiatek finished the match with two more winners and 12 fewer unforced errors than Sabalenka. The top seed saved her top tennis for the latter stages of the match.
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