US Open Tennis 2015 Results: Scores, Highlights from Early Wednesday Results

The 2015 U.S. Open field is rapidly shrinking, with the final four now set on the women's side with Flavia Pennetta and Simona Halep taking care of business at Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

Pennetta continued her run at the U.S. Open with an impressive come-from-behind win over fifth-ranked Petra Kvitova, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. This marks the second time in three years the Italian has reached the semifinals in New York. 

Standing in Pennetta's way is Halep, who ended Victoria Azarenka's run in a fantastic weather-delayed match, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. The No. 2 seed in the tournament didn't have her best stuff on Wednesday but did just enough in the final set to keep her hopes of winning that elusive first major title.     

Wednesday Scores

Women's Quarterfinals	Score
No. 26 Flavia Pennetta def. No. 5 Petra Kvitova	4-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 Simona Halep vs. No. 20 Victoria Azarenka	6-3, 4-6, 6-4

Full results at USOpen.org.

Wednesday Recap

David Goldman/Associated Press

One of the big stories at this year's U.S. Open has been the smoldering heat, as Weather.com listed temperatures in New York in the mid-to-high 80s. That doesn't even take into consideration how hot things get on the court in Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

Pennetta acknowledged that the blistering temperatures were playing a huge role in what was happening during her match with Kvitova, per espnW.com's Melissa Isaacson. 

"It [was] everything," said Pennetta. "I think it's everything, not just the heat [but] the tension for the match, what you think you have to be, what you want to be and to do. So many things on your mind, you try to take out everything and just play tennis."

Kvitova was either plagued by the heat or didn't have her game working because she was undone by nine double-faults and 60 unforced errors in the loss. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, another problem Kvitova had was preventing Pennetta from breaking her serve:

Even though Kvitova will be looking back on this match at all the opportunities she missed, credit Pennetta for taking advantage of her opening after a flat first-set loss. 

Women's tennis is proving that it's no longer strictly a young woman's game based on the U.S. Open semifinalists, per Jessica W. Luther:

"

3 women have made it into the #usopen SF: Williams, 33 Pennetta, 33 Vinci, 32

— Jessica Luther (@scATX) September 9, 2015"

While Pennetta should be happy to advance, she will have to perform much better in the semifinals against Halep. The 33-year-old didn't have a single ace and was a combined 10-of-25 on net points and break points won. 

Halep has plenty of things to clean up as well. Azarenka converted all five of her break-point opportunities in the loss.

It also appeared as though Halep was running out of steam early in the third set before rain caused a brief delay. Azarenka was in control of the match, leaving the 23-year-old frustrated and searching for answers. 

After the match, per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times, Halep admitted she was helped by the weather delay:

Yet even with some of Halep's problems, the passion she unleashed after hitting match point was magnificent, per U.S. Open Tennis:

Moving ahead to the semifinal showdown between Pennetta and Halep, this will be the fifth match between the two women in their careers. Pennetta holds a 3-1 edge, including a win in the fourth round at this tournament two years ago. 

However, that was in the midst of Halep's rise to becoming one of the best players in the world. She has since won seven singles titles since that fateful September day two years ago. The Romanian also defeated Pennetta in their last match at the Miami Masters in March.

If both players are at the top of their game, Halep should come out on top. Another performance like the one she had today will leave the door wide-open for Pennetta, though her win over Kvitova left a lot to be desired. 

The tournament has been building to a Halep-Serena Williams showdown in the finals. Expect Halep and Pennetta to right the ship quickly, bringing their best on the biggest stage both players have ever been on.