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World number 7 and the 3rd seed Xiyu Wang will have a chance to become the first Chinese junior Grand Slam champion after defeating a qualifier Dasha Lopatetskaya 6-1 5-7 6-3 in an hour and 55 minutes for her biggest result in a career. Xiyu had lost in the quarter-final of the Australian Open and Roland Garros before advancing into the semis at Wimbledon, having a chance to go all the way here in New York.
The match had to be completed on an indoor court due to rain and Wang earned the triumph after converting eight out of 15 break points, winning more than 50% of the return points. Lopatetskaya, the most promising player born in 2003 gave her best to stay in touch with the older opponent, converting five of six break points but losing the edge in the decider to miss a chance of reaching a Grand Slam final on her debut.
Xiyu found her rhythm right from the start, sailing through her service games in the opening set and earning breaks in games two and six before closing the set with a hold at love in game seven. The second set saw tight battle, with four breaks in the opening six games and with Lopatetskaya who moved 5-3 in front with a break at 15 in game eight.
Wang broke back in the following game to prolong the set but she suffered another break at 5-6 to hand the set to Dasha and set up a decider. There, the Chinese forged a huge 5-2 lead with four easy holds and breaks in games one and seven, serving for the win in the next game.
Lopatetskaya pulled one break back to reduce the deficit but it was all over when she lost serve in game nine, sending Wang into the title match. The 11th seed Clara Burel will have a chance to become the first French junior champion in New York since Marion Bartoli 17 years ago following a hard-fought 7-5 1-6 7-6 over the 4th seed Maria Camila Osorio Serrano in an hour and 41 minutes. Burel was the finalist at Eddie Herr last December and at the Australian Open in January, seeking her biggest career title just like Wang (she defeated the Chinese in the semis in Melbourne).
Burel won just two points more than Osorio Serrano and she scored six breaks from 17 opportunities, getting broken seven times but emerging as a winner after a poor second set, keeping her focus in the deciding set tie break.
The Colombian kicked off the match in a stronger fashion, earning a break in gamer four to create a 4-1 gap before Burel pulled it back in game seven. Maria Camila had a chance to serve for the set at 5-3 after breaking again in game eight but Clara bounced back, rattling off four straight games to steal the set 7-5 after breaks in games nine and 11.
Osorio Serrano was the dominant figure in set number two, jumping into a 5-1 lead with a double break and saving three break points in the seventh game to grab the set 6-1 and increase her chances. The final set started with four back-to-back breaks of serve before Burel moved 5-3 in front with a break at 15 in game eight.
She could have closed the match in the following game but Osorio Serrano scored a break at love, saving two match points in the following game to level the score at 5-5. The momentum was now on her side and the French girl had to play against two break points in game 11, saving them all to survive and set the deciding tie break.
Three mini-breaks were enough for Clara to push her over the finish line, taking the breaker 7-3 to advance into the title match. Semi-final results:
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