Caroline Garcia and Ons Jabeur advanced to the semi-finals in the bottom half of the 2022 US Open on Tuesday. In the first semi-final, the fifth-seeded Tunisian defeated Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 7-6(4) in an hour and 41 minutes.
The opening set had three exchanges of breaks, two of which came on the Australian’s serve. Jabeur raced ahead thanks to a break in the third game of the set but handed it back in the sixth game, levelling the set at three-all.
However, Tomljanovic wasn’t able to consolidate the break back and Jabeur broke back to go up once again in the match. Three games later, Jabeur served out the set to 15. The second set saw both players struggle to hold their serve.
Jabeur took the lead twice in the set break Tomljanovic in the first and in the fifth game but on both occasions, she conceded the break back. In the eighth game, a break on Jabeur’s serve gave Tomljanovic the chance to serve for the set and level the proceedings but she was broken to love.
In the tie-break, both players trade a mini-break before Jabeur capitalised on the first match point, on her serve. The 2022 Wimbledon finalist hit 29 winners, more than twice as many as Tomljanovic’s 12 and had 30 unforced errors, six more than the latter’s 24.
US Open: Caroline Garcia soars
Meanwhile, in the second semi-final, the 17th-seeded Garcia routed the 12th-seeded Coco Gauff, 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 37 minutes. Gauff had no way to turn in the first set as Garcia secured a double break lead for a 4-0 lead.
However, while serving to consolidate the second break for a 5-0 lead, Garcia lost her grip over the set for a few minutes and Gauff was finally able to open her tally on the scoreboard. Thereafter, there were no let-ups from the Frenchwoman and she served out the set in the ninth game.
The second set continued in the same way as the first but with the sole difference that there was just the one break of serve, of Gauff’s, in the opening game. Garcia consolidated the break and held it long enough to secure the match for herself in the 10th game, when she served for it.
Garcia had 24 winners and 22 unforced errors while Gauff had 18 winners and 24 unforced errors. The 28-year-old won 78% of her first-serve points while the American won 64%. Garcia was also particularly effective at the net as she won 13 of the 16 points played there.
In comparison, Gauff struggled at the net, winning six of the 11 points in that zone. Both Ons Jabeur and Caroline Garcia are first-time semi-finalists at the US Open. However, where this is the first time Garcia’s reached the semi-finals of a Major, her 28-year-old opponent comes in with more experience of reaching these stages of the Slams.
