Jay Shah’s 2036 Olympics plan for India: ‘8 medals won’t cut it’
Her best previous Grand Slam performance came when she lost the 2024 US Open final to Aryna Sabalenkova.“It’s amazing,” Pegula said of her first Australian semi-final, beating defending champion Madison Keys in the previous round.“I thought to myself that it has to come (the semi-finals), I feel like I’m playing really good tennis here, I like the conditions here.“I knew that it would escalate in the second set, but I told myself that I would keep my serve.She added: “It was a bit windy outside so I had to play to the conditions… I feel like when she’s down she plays like she has nothing to lose.”The Americans have met three times before, with Pegula winning all previous encounters. Pegula got off to a strong start at Rod Laver Arena, breaking Anisimova’s serve and quickly building a 5-1 lead. Anisima briefly held serve but was broken again and Pegula closed out the first set in 30 minutes, hitting six aces.Anisimova made 44 unforced errors compared to Pegula’s 21. In the second set, both players held serve until the tiebreak, where Pegula pulled away. Anisimova struggled with frustration and committed several double faults.Pegula will now face fifth seed Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals, while world number one Aryna Sabalenkova will face 12th seed Elina Svitolina in the other semi-final.