{"id":9826,"date":"2018-09-05T20:57:41","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T00:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=9826"},"modified":"2018-09-05T20:57:41","modified_gmt":"2018-09-06T00:57:41","slug":"panelists-predictions-us-open-womens-semifinals-serena-williams-vs-anastasija-sevastova-and-madison-keys-vs-naomi-osaka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2018\/09\/05\/panelists-predictions-us-open-womens-semifinals-serena-williams-vs-anastasija-sevastova-and-madison-keys-vs-naomi-osaka\/","title":{"rendered":"Panelists Predictions US Open Women&#8217;s Semifinals: Serena Williams vs Anastasija Sevastova and Madison Keys vs Naomi Osaka"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We are once again heading to a classic finish at the <a href=\"http:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/us-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">US Open<\/a>. We could see Serena Williams go for Major title #24; Anastasija Sevastova might make her first Major final; Madison Keys will try to go one step better than last year; and Naomi Osaka is in the midst of the first Major breakthrough of what should be a great career. Who will make the final? We&#8217;re here to tell you. Predicting today are writers Lukas Weese, Utkarsha Mitra, and Eric Han, along with editors Steen Kirby and Yesh Ginsburg.<\/p>\n<h1>Panelists Predictions US Open Women&#8217;s Semifinals<\/h1>\n<h3>Madison Keys vs Naomi Osaka<\/h3>\n<p><em>Lukas:<\/em><br \/>\nNaomi Osaka is coming into her first Grand Slam semifinal after only losing two games against Tsurenko in her quarterfinal match. Madison Keys has made her second consecutive US Open semifinals by beating Suarez Navarro in straight sets. To me, this is a match where experience matters. Osaka will be battling nerves early on, which Keys will take advantage of with her powerful groundstrokes and serve. Keys wins easily to advance to her second consecutive final.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Keys in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Utkarsha:<\/em><br \/>\nKeys has the experience of playing multiple Grand Slam semifinals, one of them being at US Open. Keys leads their H2H 3-0, but, I have a feeling Osaka will win it. In my opinion, she\u2019s looked the most threatening player thus far and this could very well be her claim to fame.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Osaka in 3<\/em><br \/>\n<a id=\"-sXxoPOBTLh2kEVivIHBpg\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1031603642\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'-sXxoPOBTLh2kEVivIHBpg',sig:'pq4PXU1ghA60zWAqWpc7_TX4VsHDmhKCnzx9xvX0I90=',w:'594px',h:'411px',items:'1031603642',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><br \/>\n<em>Steen:<\/em><br \/>\nAn all American final is in play as Keys is playing a second straight US Open semifinal, this time against the rising Osaka. Keys&#8217; experience should help her gain a narrow win.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Keys in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Eric:<\/em><br \/>\nOsaka has been playing well all tournament, and eased past her previous opponent Lesia Tsurenko 6-1 6-1, so will be ready physically for the match. Even though Keys has been playing well all tournament as well and leads their overall head-to-head 3-0, I do sense this will be Osaka\u2019s moment to prove to everyone that she can play on the big stage.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Osaka in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Yesh:<\/em><br \/>\nOsaka looks so impressive and is probably a little better than Keys. Keys has the experience, though, and looks as motivated as she ever has in her career.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Keys in 3<\/em><br \/>\n<a id=\"IpJrkjtrRxx22KZWsumXsQ\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1027411988\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'IpJrkjtrRxx22KZWsumXsQ',sig:'cco-dSvQqW4flnqkqh4H4srvH5250bBidDjlKCpuXiU=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1027411988',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Serena Williams vs Anastasija Sevastova<\/h3>\n<p><em>Lukas:<\/em><br \/>\nSevastova is coming into this match after a straight set victory over Sloane Stephens. She won 58% of her total service points and converted on five of her eight break points. In her last three matches, she has 17 breaks of serve. But she will be facing her toughest opponent in Serena Williams, who is coming into this match after a straight set victory over Karolina Pliskova. With 40 aces in her last three matches, Serena is the clear favorite to win this tournament. Sevastova does not have the serving capacity or weapons to challenge Williams. Serena will advance to the final.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Williams in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Utkarsha:<\/em><br \/>\nAfter two consecutive quarterfinal losses following her comeback from retirement, Sevastova has finally reached the semifinal, with that win over Stephens. But, Serena has looked very comfortable this entire tournament. It\u2019ll be an interesting match to look forward to.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Williams in 3<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Yesh:<\/em><br \/>\nSerena Williams has lost in her last two US Open semifinal appearances. She&#8217;s playing well, but with the way Sevastova is competing, I think that streak will be extended to three.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Sevastova in 2<\/em><br \/>\n<a id=\"1ciXc8o4Stphd5ruycK2hA\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1026757000\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'1ciXc8o4Stphd5ruycK2hA',sig:'6G4Z-OLU8hldRy7tJXdFPa2Jq8We4R_sF5NcJGNZ0Qo=',w:'446px',h:'594px',items:'1026757000',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><br \/>\n<em>Eric:<\/em><br \/>\nBoth players looked almighty impressive in their previous matches. Sevastova encompasses an all-round game as she plays with slice and drop shots often, so may trouble Serena at times. However, Serena should prevail as she has more experience in playing these players and knows how to play the big matches.<br \/>\nSevastova is also in unfamiliar territory as this is her first Grand Slam semifinal and will no doubt be nervous. Serena will no doubt use this opportunity to come out aggressive to gain an early lead.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Williams in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Steen:<\/em><br \/>\nSerena has to be the favorite to win the title at this point. Sevastova has been tremendous to get this far but as long as Serena is fit she should cruise.<br \/>\n<em>Prediction: Williams in 2<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"HkItZhZKSohrt8nNKfEJ5w\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1031509438\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'HkItZhZKSohrt8nNKfEJ5w',sig:'KuRapPEN3sJz6dqHs5257FTeXrEXEeo6PjOK3EuoW6Y=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1031509438',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are once again heading to a classic finish at the US Open. We could see Serena Williams go for Major title #24; Anastasija Sevastova might make her first Major final; Madison Keys will try to go one step better than last year; and Naomi Osaka is in the midst of the first Major breakthrough [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1601,"featured_media":9827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,69,8,4],"tags":[119,3829,63,3826,476,3827,25,3828,2373,2369,3660,3616,3824,3825],"class_list":["post-9826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-predictions","category-us-open","category-wta","tag-anastasija-sevastova","tag-anastasija-sevastova-us-open","tag-madison-keys","tag-madison-keys-us-open","tag-naomi-osaka","tag-naomi-osaka-us-open","tag-serena-williams","tag-serena-williams-us-open","tag-tennis-picks","tag-tennis-predictions","tag-us-open-picks","tag-us-open-predictions","tag-us-open-semifinals","tag-us-open-womens-semifinals"],"modified_by":"Yesh Ginsburg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}