Madison Keys vs Aryna Sabalenka Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA US Open

Prediction published on 07/09/2023, 06:19  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 07/09/2023 at 07:20 in Tennis Predictions

Second seeded Aryna Sabalenka takes on the 17th seed Madison Keys in the US Open semi-finals. The winner of this match will face either Coco Gauff or Karolina Muchova in Saturday's final. Sabalenka will be the new world number one when the next ranking list is published after this tournament. 2023 began with her maiden Grand Slam title being won in Australia. At both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, she lost in the last four. Now Sabalenka is in her fifth consecutive Grand Slam semi-final and the third in a row in New York. Only one semi-final has been won though but Sabalenka has the form to make that two. This tournament has seen her reach the last four without dropping a set. Only 21 games have been lost in her five matches. It wasn't until the second set of her quarter final that a player won four games in a set against her.

Madison Keys is in her third US Open final and the first in five years. 2017 saw the American lose in the final and then the last four was reached the following year. This is the sixth Grand Slam semi-final of her career and the first since the 2022 Australian Open. The 28-year-old (quarter finalist at Wimbledon this year) is up to 11th in the live rankings. Making it to her second US Open final will take her up to ninth place. Keys didn't lose a set in the first two rounds of this tournament. The third round saw her lose the first set to 14th seeded Liudmilla Samsonova but won the next two for the loss of only four games. Her best win so far was in round four when defeating third seed Jessica Pegula 6-1 6-3. The quarter finals saw her beat Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets. Sabalenka leads Keys 2-1 in previous meetings. Both of Sabalenka's wins came in straight sets and we reckon a third is on its way.