"Queen of the Night" - Jessica Pegula, Sloane Stephens & Jennifer Brady congratulate Madison Keys on reaching US Open 2023 SF

Madison Keys beat reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday (September 6) to record a third career semifinal appearance at the US Open. Her peers, including Jessica Pegula, Sloane Stephens and Jennifer Brady, proceeded to congratulate the 28-year-old on her achievement.

Jennifer Brady and Sloane Stephens both commented on Madison Keys' Instagram post following her victory during Wednesday's night session. While Brady proclaimed Keys to be "the queen of the night," Stephens encouraged her to go all the way in Flushing Meadows.

"Queen of the Night," Brady wrote, followed by an emoji of a queen's crown.

"Let's do this baby!!!!" former US Open champion Stephens wrote.

A screen capture of Sloane Stephens and Jennifer Brady's comments on Madison Keys' Instagram post

World No. 3 Jessica Pegula, meanwhile, took to her Instagram stories to repost a picture which shows Keys' semifinals runs at the US Open in 2017, 2018 and 2023. Pegula remarked that her compatriot "hasn't aged a day" since her first foray into the semifinals of the New York Major.

"And hasn't aged a day @madisonkeys," she wrote, followed by two emojis.

A screen capture of Jessica Pegula's story

While Madison Keys has struggled for consistency during her career, she has always been a reliable pick to do well on the big stage. The American has advanced to the quarterfinals of a Major tournament 10 times in her career, whilst making at least the semifinals six times.

Three of the 28-year-old's semifinal appearances have come at the US Open. Keys first featured in the last four of the event in 2017; she would defeat fellow American Coco Vandeweghe before losing to her good friend Sloane Stephens in the final. She reached the semifinals once again at the 2018 US Open, where she lost to eventual champion Naomi Osaka.

Madison Keys has dropped just one set so far on her way to US Open 2023 semis

Madison Keys (L) and Jessica Pegula embrace after their fourth-round encounter at the 2023 US Open

Madison Keys started the 2023 season in style, guiding USA to a triumph at the 2023 United Cup in January. The former World No. 7 won all five of her matches during the week.

She then backed up her United Cup victory with a successful campaign at the WTA 500 event in Eastbourne, where she beat Coco Gauff and Daria Kasatkina en route to the title. The American subsequently reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

And while the World No. 17 lost early at the WTA 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati, she managed to regroup just in time for the final Major tournament of the year.

Madison Keys has dropped only one set during this fortnight, defeating higher-ranked opponents like Jessica Pegula, Marketa Vondrousova and Liudmila Samsonova en route to the semifinals in New York. She will next face World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka for a place in the women's final.

It should be noted that the American trails her Belarusian opponent by a margin of 2-1 in their head-to-head meetings on the WTA tour. Having said that, she never fails to turn up for matches against top opposition, which means that fans will likely be treated to a high-quality encounter.