By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ons Jabeur executed a stunning 6-1 6-3 demolition of Caroline Garcia in the U.S. Open semi-finals on Thursday, ending the Frenchwoman’s hot streak to reach her second Grand Slam final of the year.
Garcia had not dropped a set in reaching the last four but immediately ran into problems as Jabeur broke her in the opening game before taking the first set in a blistering 23 minutes, with six aces and 11 winners.
Rolling into her first Grand Slam semi-final on a 13-match winning streak, Garcia was denied the most reliable tool in her arsenal – her big serve – and never had the momentum.
Jabeur, who became the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final at Wimbledon this year and has become known as Tunisia’s “Minister of Happiness”, shouted with joy after she sent an unreturnable serve over the net for the win.
“It feels amazing. After Wimbledon there was a lot of pressure on me and I’m really relieved that I can back up my results,” she said.
“The hard court season started a little bit bad but now I’m very happy that I made it to the finals here.”
The second semi-final between top seed Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka takes place later on Thursday.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery and Rory Carroll in New York)
