NEW YORK (AP) —
Iga Swiatek dropped four points in a row in her
U.S. Open quarterfinal against
Jessica Pegula by missing shots, some wildly. So with Pegula up by a break at 3-2 and serving at 30-love, Swiatek walked over to the sideline in the middle of a game to swap out her white racket for another one.
The Arthur Ashe Stadium roof was open, the 70-degree air was as cool and dry as it's been during a hot, humid tournament, and Swiatek figured maybe she should try a tighter string tension to see whether that would help control the ball a little more.
Whether that actually did the trick, or simply put Swiatek's mind at ease, the move certainly swung the direction of the match. The No. 1-ranked Swiatek grabbed 14 of the next 15 points and, while closing things out was not easy, she reached her first semifinal at Flushing Meadows by pulling out a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over Pegula on Wednesday night.
"I don't know if it actually was the key or something," Swiatek said after a match filled with a combined 13 breaks of serve, 10 in the second set alone. "For sure, I wasn't thinking about the strings (anymore), and I just focused on the right stuff after the change."
When play resumed, Swiatek popped up a short return that floated toward Pegula, who rushed a backhand swinging volley that landed out. That was followed by three forehand errors in a row by the No. 8 Pegula, the highest-ranked American player.