For the second time this year, CoCo Vandeweghe has reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam tennis tournament.
Vandeweghe, from Rancho Santa Fe, upset the world’s No. 1-ranked player, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, 7-6 (5), 6-3, in a quarterfinal match Wednesday in New York.
In January, Vandeweghe advanced to a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time at the Australian Open. She won the first set against Venus Williams but lost the match in three sets.
Williams also is in the U.S. Open semifinals, which will be played Thursday. Seeded ninth, she will face fellow American Sloane Stephens. Vandeweghe’s opponent a fourth American, No. 15 seed Madison Keys, who beat Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi on Wednesday night.
The last time there were four Americans in a Grand Slam semifinals was in 1985 at Wimbledon — Kathy Rinaldi, Venus Garrison, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. It also happened in the 1981 U.S. Open with Evert, Navratilova, Tracy Austin and Barbara Potter.
Vandeweghe, seeded 20th, took control of the second set with a service break in the sixth game, which gave her a 4-2 lead. The 25-year-old Californian won her final two service games to close out the match.
“When I won this event as a junior at 16, I always dreamed about being here on the real stage, moving through the draw,” Vandeweghe said after the match on ESPN. “So, to actually come together this year … it is a process. I did expect it overnight when I was 16 but it is a process and now here I am and I couldn’t wish for anything better.”
Vandeweghe also is in the semifinals of the mixed doubles competition with her partner, Horia Tecau of Romania. They will play the top seeds, Martina Hingis and Jamie Murray.
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UPDATES:
6:15 p.m.: This article was updated with results of the evening match.
