The world No. 2 Elena Rybakina defeated Coco Gauff in the US Open semifinal to secure a spot in Saturday's final at the Flushing Meadows. After Rybakina beat Gauff in the semifinal, top-seeded Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka faces a daunting task in her bid for a third straight title.

If Sabalenka is able to do so, it would be the first time since Serena Williams (2012-2014) that a player has won three straight US Open titles. "She (Sabalenka) very aggressive player, it's difficult to play with her mentally, physically because she has a big game, a big serve," said Rybakina in a post match press conference. "I will need to come with all the energy I will have, bring my best serve against Aryna, and make the right decisions in the right moment," she added.

Rybakina won a hard-fought, three-set match against Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to book a matchup with Aryna Sabalenka. On the other hand, Sabalenka, the two time defending champion is coming into the US Open final after defeating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2, winning the second set decisively after both the players competed on roughly equal terms in the first set. The US Open final on Saturday, September 12, is a showdown between top-seeded Sabalenka and World No.

But when the new WTA rankings are out on Monday, September 14, the landscape shifts for Sabalenka, who has held the top spot for 99 consecutive weeks. A fact that Sabalenka also realises, saying, "It's a lot of work, and yeah, that was one of my goals, but right now, not much I could do. I didn't really perform well in the middle of the season." "Elena took it over and played really well, and she took away No.

1 position," she added. Rybakina had beaten Sabalenka at the start of the season's opening Grand Slam in the Australian Open final.