Wozniacki set to meet Peng for US Open final

Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki and first-time Grand Slam semifinalist Peng Shuai will meet for a place in the US Open title match after dominant victories on Sept. 2.

Wozniacki, the runner-up at Flushing Meadows in 2009, dismissed 13th-seeded Italian Sara Errani 6-0, 6-1 and is back in the semi-finals of a major for the first time since the 2011 US Open.

China's Peng, in the quarterfinals of a major for the first time in her 37th attempt, made similarly short work of Swiss teen Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-1.

Peng joined two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na and Zheng Jie as the only Chinese to reach the last four of a Grand Slam.

“Thirty-seven times Grand Slam,” Peng said, then had to stop the thought as she struggled to contain her emotions after taking apart Bencic in just 64 minutes.

“It's a little bit too exciting,” she said. “I love tennis, I love to play, but it's a long time, the career. It's tough. Sometimes I've thought to give up and stop playing because I don't know if I can make it or not.
“My coach and my parents always told me to fight and not give up -- that today was coming.”

Wozniacki was similarly convincing on a windy night on Arthur Ashe Stadium court, where towels from the players' chairs and stray plastic bags had to be corraled.

“It was really tricky conditions with the wind but I tried to stay aggressive,” Wozniacki said, calling the opening game “very important.”

“You always go out there and are a little bit nervous. I served really well after that.”    

Blockbuster game

In men’s competition, five-time champion Roger Federer set-up a US Open quarterfinal blockbuster against eccentric French star Gael Monfils on Sept. 2...