{"id":2077,"date":"2026-09-12T12:17:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T10:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/?p=2077"},"modified":"2026-09-12T12:17:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T10:17:53","slug":"us-open-semi-finals-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/2026\/09\/12\/us-open-semi-finals-3\/","title":{"rendered":"US Open &#8211; Semi-Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>The US Open 2026 semi-finals set up blockbuster finals: Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton advanced on the men\u2019s side, while Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina powered through in the women\u2019s draw.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s Semi-Finals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Alexander Zverev<\/strong> def. Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Zverev held his nerve in two tense tiebreaks to reach his <strong>third consecutive Grand Slam final<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Khachanov had chances in both breakers but couldn\u2019t convert, as Zverev\u2019s composure proved decisive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ben Shelton<\/strong> def. Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Shelton rallied from a set down to beat his fellow American, reaching his <strong>first Grand Slam final<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He becomes the first American man in the US Open final since 2006, and could be the first to win since Andy Roddick in 2003.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s Semi-Finals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Aryna Sabalenka<\/strong> def. Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sabalenka powered past Pegula, keeping her bid for a <strong>third straight US Open crown<\/strong> alive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Elena Rybakina<\/strong> def. Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rybakina fought back after dropping the first set, defeating the defending champion to reach her first US Open final.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udcca Fantasy League Impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Big winners<\/strong>: Teams with Zverev, Shelton, Sabalenka, and Rybakina surged in points.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Upset pain<\/strong>: Pegula and Gauff\u2019s exits hurt managers banking on American women to go deep.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Finals outlook<\/strong>: With Zverev vs Shelton and Sabalenka vs Rybakina set, fantasy squads stacked with these stars are primed for maximum payoff.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udcca Fantasy League Leaderboard Update \u2013 US Open 2026 (After Semi-Finals)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The semi-finals have completely reshaped the standings, with <strong>Dropshots<\/strong> taking over the top spot by a single point!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfc6 Top of the Table<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Dropshots<\/strong> \u2013 253 points<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hit and Run<\/strong> \u2013 252 points<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hot Shots<\/strong> \u2013 232 points<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Christopher Columbus<\/strong> \u2013 231 points<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Canniballs<\/strong> \u2013 217 points<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The top four are separated by just 22 points \u2014 the finals will decide everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u26a1 Mid-Table Highlights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Serving looks<\/strong> (216) and <strong>SINsational<\/strong> (214) are still pushing hard.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Wobbles<\/strong> (209) and <strong>Arthur Ash&#8217;s Ace Mechanics<\/strong> (208) are locked in a tight duel.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Eish<\/strong> (207) rounds out the top 10.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u274c Eliminated Teams<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The following teams are now officially out of contention (highlighted in red on the sheet):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>MTC Outpost<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Served<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>New York Slammers<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Net Net<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hail Mary<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>US of ABCDEFG<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pat&#8217;s Pick<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\udeb5 Wooden Spoon Watch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Pat\u2019s Pick<\/strong> (113) and <strong>Hit and Miss<\/strong> (113) are locked in a duel for last place.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Route 66<\/strong> (120) is just ahead, nervously safe\u2026 for now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The finals are set, and the leaderboard is tighter than ever. With Dropshots and Hit and Run separated by a single point, and Hot Shots plus Christopher Columbus lurking just behind, the championship is going to be decided by the very last ball struck in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"485\" height=\"590\" src=\"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/image-23.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2079\" srcset=\"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/image-23.png 485w, http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/image-23-247x300.png 247w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 485px) 100vw, 485px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"488\" height=\"572\" src=\"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/image-24.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2080\" srcset=\"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/image-24.png 488w, http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/image-24-256x300.png 256w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 488px) 100vw, 488px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The US Open 2026 semi-finals set up blockbuster finals: Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton advanced on the men\u2019s side, while Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina powered through in the women\u2019s draw. \ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s Semi-Finals \ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s Semi-Finals \ud83d\udcca Fantasy League Impact \ud83d\udcca Fantasy League Leaderboard Update \u2013 US Open 2026 (After Semi-Finals) The semi-finals have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-open-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2077"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2081,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077\/revisions\/2081"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}