US Open Tennis 2015: TV Schedule and Women's Semifinal Predictions

Much of the focus at the 2015 U.S. Open has been on one person, but all four women remaining in the semifinals enter the round with the intention of bringing home a title.

Top-seeded Serena Williams is clearly the biggest story as she attempts to complete a calendar Grand Slam. After defeating her sister Venus in the quarterfinals, she is now just two matches away from the historic accomplishment. 

On the other hand, the other three challengers now know they are two wins away from their first career title. Simona Halep, Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci have all performed extremely well to get to this point, and they aren't going to roll over for the favorite.

Expect an exciting pair of matches as we learn who will compete in the finals.

U.S. Open Women's Semifinals

When: Friday, September 11

Where: Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City

Start Time: 11 a.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: Watch ESPN

No. 1 Serena Williams vs. Roberta Vinci

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Williams is clearly the most dominant player in the sport, but her performances at the U.S. Open haven't been flawless. She has already dropped two sets in five matches, which is more than in any of her three recent championships in Queens.

The toughest test came in the quarterfinals against Venus Williams, which came down to three sets before Serena was able to pull out the victory. The eventual winner gave a lot of credit to her sister after the match, via S.L. Price of Sports Illustrated:

"

It was probably the toughest match I have played in really, really, really long time where I wasn’t actually beating myself. I was out there facing an incredibly tough opponent…I think against any other player she, for sure, would have won.

"

She also made it clear she didn't really enjoy the victory, via Jose Morgado of the Record:

Williams will likely be emotionally drained heading into her next match, and some relatively sloppy play (21 double-faults in the last four rounds) could cause some problems early. Still, the American has been so good that even struggles in one of the sets won't necessarily derail her. ESPN Stats and Info breaks down her record in tougher matches this season:

Vinci has done a great job of winning with her serve this tournament, even when missing with her first chance. The Italian has won at least 60 percent of her first serves in all four matches as well as at least 50 percent of her second serves in three of four rounds.

The problem is she will not be able to hang around with Williams on the return. Vinci has not faced a seeded player all tournament (not counting a walkover versus Eugenie Bouchard) and is likely to get a rude awakening against the best player in the world. The underdog can keep it close for a while, but eventually the superstar will win out.

Prediction: Williams wins 6-4, 5-7, 6-1

No. 2 Simona Halep vs. No. 26 Flavia Pennetta

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Halep earned a tough win over Victoria Azarenka, who is clearly better than her No. 20 seed. Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times noted the No. 2 seed's struggles on the most important points before a rain delay:

Things turned around a bit after the break, but she still only won 6-of-19 break chances, while Azarenka won all five of her opportunities. Combining this with her struggles on the second serve (five double-faults, won only 29 percent of points), it is almost a miracle she was able to survive in three sets.

The serving accuracy has actually been an issue beyond this match. In the last three rounds, Halep has 15 doubles-faults to go with only five aces.

Pennetta has been much more conservative in her approach, and it has led to fewer mistakes throughout the tournament. The Italian only needed 21 winners in three sets to win her quarterfinal match against Petra Kvitova, allowing her opponent to make most of the mistakes.

ESPN's Chris Fowler also gave credit to some of Pennetta's intangibles after the match:

This type of performance was enough to beat the No. 5 seed and with the way she is playing, it is enough to beat the No. 2 seed as well. It should be a close battle throughout, but look for Pennetta to pull out her fourth three-set win of the tournament.

Prediction: Pennetta wins 7-6, 4-6, 6-3

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