American clean sweep for US Open semi-finals after Madison Keys beats Kanepi

The US Open can boast four American women in the semi-finals for the first time in 36 years after Madison Keys completed the clean sweep with victory over Kaia Kanepi.

Not since Tracy Austin, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Barbara Potter reached the last four in 1981 has the host nation managed such dominance. And the fact they have achieved it despite the absence of new mother Serena Williams is a tremendous testament to their strength in depth.

Keys was the banker of the four and the 15th seed never looked like letting the side down, needing just 69 minutes to defeat qualifier Kanepi 6-3 6-3. It has been a tremendous tournament for the Estonian, so troubled by injuries in recent years, and her ranking will climb from 418 to the brink of the top 100.

But this day and this tournament belonged to America as Keys joined her semi-final opponent Coco Vandeweghe, who upset top seed Karolina Pliskova earlier, Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens in the last four.

Keys has struggled with injuries since reaching her first slam semi-final in Australia two years ago and underwent her second wrist operation after the French Open in June.

The 22-year-old said: “This means the world to me. If someone told me this is where I would be right before Wimbledon I wouldn’t have believed you.

“We’re going to have four American women playing tomorrow and that’s pretty awesome. I was real nervous today. The car ride over I was definitely feeling it but once I got out here I felt really good. We all were rooting for each other, I thought it would be a really special moment and I’m happy I helped everyone out and got my name in there.”

Vandeweghe was keen to give credit to those who have gone before – and in Williams’ case continue to defy the passage of time – after her 7-6 (7/4) 6-3 victory over Pliskova.

“Venus last night said it very well that the younger ones were looking at Lindsay (Davenport), Jennifer (Capriati), and Serena and Venus,” she said. “We wanted to be those same players in a later generation. Now that we’re older, we can put that into words, but we all wanted to be there.”

Vandeweghe has had a breakthrough year at the slams, also reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open and the quarter-finals of Wimbledon. Now, like Keys and Stephens, she will bid for her first appearance in a grand slam final, and gave credit to coach Pat Cash, who she has been working with since the grass-court season.

She said of his impact: “I think the biggest thing is channelling my intensity and tenacity out onto the court and putting it into a singular focus. You will have to ask him how he’s been able to do that. I don’t really know. Maybe it’s like some Jedi mind trick.”

Pliskova needed to at least match her achievement of last year by reaching the final to prevent Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza usurping her as world number one.

The Czech was the only top-eight seed to make it through to the quarter-finals and looked to have hit her stride after shaky early performances. But again she struggled to find her best form, making crucial errors in the first set tie-break in particular.