Wozniacki, the No. 10 seed, is enjoying a major resurgence of her own here in Flushing.

Wozniacki, the No. 10 seed, is enjoying a major resurgence of her own here in Flushing. 

The 24-year-old Dane has been nothing short of great in reaching this point, looking very much like the woman who played her way into the US Open final in 2009. Prior to this year’s US Open, Wozniacki had not been past the quarters of a major since she placed among the final eight at the Aussie Open in 2012. Wozniacki won her 22^nd career tournament title in July in Istanbul and has won at least one singles title every year since 2008. Though the 10th seed has not had the clean run to this point that the other three semifinalists have had—she’s dropped two sets while the others have dropped none—she’s nonetheless planted some impressive seeds. Her three-set win over No. 5 seed Sharapova in the fourth round was a study in toughness and tenacity, bywords that have long figured prominently in her bio.

China’s hopes for a representative in the later rounds of the women’s draw were thought to have evaporated when the country’s No. 1, Li Na, was forced to withdraw before the start of the event with a knee injury. But that was before we got an up-close look at China’s No. 3, Peng Shuai, in action. The diminutive Peng has been nothing short of sensational in reaching her first career Slam semi, playing a big game and moving superbly. The 28-year-old has had a successful doubles career—she owns 16 career doubles titles—but inside the singles lines, this has been Peng’s most outstanding career performance. In reaching this point, she has taken out three seeds, including an especially impressive second-round win over No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska that launched her on her way.

This figures to be an entertaining contest between two great movers and seriously solid sluggers. In the end, it will be Wozniacki’s experience that makes the difference, but it may take a while to get to the end. This one goes three; Wozniacki goes on to the final.