Flushing Meadows, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki and China's Peng Shuai secured semifinal berths Tuesday at the U.S. Open.
Wozniacki, the 10th seed and U.S. Open runner-up in 2009, topped 13th seed Sara Errani of Italy, 6-0, 6-1, in just 65 minutes during the night session.
The 27-year-old Peng leveled upstart 17-year-old Swiss and fellow non-seed Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-1 in 63 minutes on a steamy day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Wozniacki gained her first Grand Slam semifinal berth since the 2011 U.S. Open by converting 6-of-9 break point opportunities.
"It was really tricky conditions with the wind," Wozniacki said.
Peng tallied four service breaks, compared to zero for Bencic, and recorded twice as many winners (24-12) on Day 9 of the fortnight. Bencic hurt her own cause with 19 unforced errors.
The veteran Peng's semifinal opponent on Friday will be a former world No. 1 who holds a 5-1 all-time record against her Chinese counterpart.
Peng is appearing in her 37th Grand Slam event. She's never titled on the WTA, but is a six-time finalist, including this year in Shenzhen in her native China, where she lost to fellow countrywoman Li Na.
"It's exciting, it's a surprise," Peng said following her victory.
Two other quarterfinals will be staged on Wednesday, when reigning world No. 1 Serena Williams faces 11th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta and 16th-seeded former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka takes on 17th-seeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who has quietly reached the quarters at four of the last eight majors.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion Williams beat the two-time Aussie Open titlist Azarenka in the last two U.S. Open finals and is a five-time champion in Flushing Meadows.
