Kevin Anderson reached the first Grand Slam semi-final of his career, with a four-sets victory over American Sam Querrey at the US Open in New York. The South African will now face the 12th-seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta for a place in the final.
Anderson, seeded 28th, turned the tables on the man who knocked him out of Wimbledon this year, beating the 17th-seeded Querrey 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (9-11), 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
Here’s how @KAndersonATP became the first South African in 14 years to book a spot in a Gran Slam semi-final. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/ZzRQX4Dyzl
— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) September 6, 2017
Carreno Busta, who has not dropped a set at the tournament, advanced to his first Grand Slam semi-final by defeating Argentinian 29th seed Diego Schartzman 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
‘Incredible,’ Carreno Busta said. ‘It’s something that I always dreamed about, but something I never thought was going to arrive here. It’s a great feeling.’
While legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are each only one win away from meeting for the first time at the US Open in a potentially epic semi-final in the other half of the draw, this side is guaranteed to produce a first-time Slam finalist.
Venus Williams reached her third Grand Slam semi-final of the season — something she last did 15 years ago — by edging two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2) under a closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
‘Definitely felt like a special match. No easy moments, not easy to hold serve or break serve,’ Williams said. ‘This match meant a lot to me, obviously, playing at home, and of course, it being a major.’
The 37-year-old Williams, who won titles at Flushing Meadows way back in 2000 and 2001, trailed 3-1 in the third set before digging out of the hole with a little help: Kvitova’s eighth double-fault handed over the break that made it 3-3.
And Kvitova’s ninth double-fault got Williams to match point in the tiebreaker.
She will face unseeded Sloane Stephens on Thursday in the first all-American women’s semi-final in New York since 2002. Stephens advanced with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) victory over 16th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia.
There could be another US vs US semi-final on the other side of the draw: 15th-seeded Madison Keys and 20th-seeded Coco Vandeweghe play their quarter-finals Wednesday.
Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images