Coco Vandeweghe beat former world number 1 Karolina Pliskova 7-6 6-4 in the US Open quarter final on Wednesday to set up a semifinal against Madison Keys, who beat Kaia Kanepi. The match between Vandeweghe and Keys is one of the two all-American semifinals at this year’s edition of the Flushing Meadows tournament. Venus Williams will face Sloane Stephens in the other semifinal.
“It will be exciting to have two all-American semifinals. I have a good relationship to Madison Keys. We played in the Fed Cup together and spent our time outside the tennis court”, said Coco Vandeweghe.
Vandeweghe has scored her second win over a world number 1 in her career. Earlier this year she beat Angelique Kerber at last January’s Australian Open in the fourth round.
“I am really happy with how I was able to close the match in the fashion that I did and in front of the crowd today. There were moments where I was really tough in the big points, and I think my best asset today was making her continually play on her service games. Whether it was not a great return that just got over the net, I know as a big server it’s really annoying when your serve keeps coming back”
The 25-year-old player, who was born in New York to 1976 Olympic swimmer Tauna Vandeweghe and Robert Mullarkey. Coco hails from a sports family, as her grandfather Ernie Vandeweghe was a former NBA basketball player for the New York team. Her uncle Kiki Vandeweghe, her mother’s brother, played in the NBA for Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks and and Los Angeles Clippers and head coach of the New Jersey Nets. Coco Vandeweghe first started playing tennis with her elder brother Beau at the age of 11 and won the US Open Junior tournament at the age of 16 in 2008.
At last January’s Australian Open Vandeweghe beat Garbine Muguruza in straight sets to advance to her first Grand Slam semifinal. She won the first set against Venus Williams in a tie-break but lost in three sets by 6-7 6-2 6-3. She became the fourth North American player woman other than the Williams’sisters to reach the semifinals in Melbourne in the past five years following in the footsteps of Sloane Stephens, Eugenie Bouchard and Madison Keys. Stephens and Keys have also reached the semifinal at this year’s US Open. Atther the Australian Open Vandeweghe broke into the top 20 for the first time in her career.
At this year’s edition of Wimbledon Vandeweghe beat Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round to advance to the quarter finals for the second time in three years. She was beaten by Magdalena Rybarikova in straight sets.
She entered this year’s US Open as the number 20 seed. She rallied from one set down to beat Alison Riske in the first round before beating Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets and 2015 Roland Garros finalist Lucie Safarova to advance to her third Grand Slam quarter final of the year. She beat Karolina Pliskova in straight sets to reach her second Grand Slam semifinal this year.
“I am a pretty positive person, so I don’t really look too much at the negatives of my life. I try to move forward as best as I can and I have always done that. I have always been more of a glass half full. I don’t really take too much in previous bad experiences. I take more in the positives and learning curve that you can learn from losses and you can learn from wins.
Vandeweghe’s next rival is Number 15 seed Madison Keys in today’s semifinal.
“Madison is a player that can take control of the points and of the rallies. If I allow her to do that, then she is going to be on the winning side of the coin. It’s going to depend on me and making sure she is not capable of doing that. The same goes for Kanepi, as well. I think Kanepi is also a big player. She is former top 20. I have played her a couple of times and been blown off the court when I was younger, because she plays that big”.
Vandeweghe has dreamed about winning a Grand Slam title since she clinched the US Open Junior title in 2008 at the age of 16.
“I think every junior players dreams of holding Grand Slam trophies at the end of a tournament. I think the dream still holds as far as I am still searching for that trophy at the end of the week”
Vandeweghe has been working with Pat Cash since last June’s Roland Garros.
“The biggest thing is channeling my intensity and tenacity out onto the court and putting i tinto a singolar focus. I think that’s one of the biggest things Pat has implemented into my regimen. I think there moments where I was really tough in the big points, and I think my best asset today was making her continually play on her service games. Whether it was not a great return that just got over the net, I know as a big server it’s really annoying when your serve keeps coming back. I know that’s what my main focus was just to get it back, not have her have a free point too easily”.
Vandeweghe was asked during the press conference if she had a role model when she started playing tennis and if she prefers Federer or Nadal.
“I think I a Federer person. It was more I liked how he played. He was more of an aggressive player, while Nadal, in the early stages of his career, was more of a grinder., he grinded opposition down. It’s similar to like Sampras and Agassi. I liked Sampras more than I liked Agassi, even though Agassi threw in haymakers and was an unbelivable player. My game was modelled off of Sampras, at least my serve. I think I have spent more time watching Sampras than I did Agassi”
