Aryna Sabalenka’s grip on the US Open showed no sign of weakening on Thursday night as the two-time defending champion swept past Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 to move one win from a third straight title. The top-seeded Belarusian star finished with 29 winners to Pegula’s 12, her relentless aggression turning what had been a 50-50 fight deep into the opening set into a one-sided affair that marked her 19th consecutive victory at Flushing Meadows. She played a super-high level.
Honestly, I don’t really know if there was much I could do today.” Sabalenka was inclined to agree. Sabalenka, dressed in all black like the final boss she has become in New York, wasted no time trading hellfire with her American foe. They were level through eight games after only 25 minutes, with the average rally lasting just two and a half shots.
Pegula stood up impressively to Sabalenka’s weight of shot, while the champion’s concussive power was offset by just enough errors to keep the opening set on a knife-edge. Pegula took her first chance at 4-all. A Sabalenka double fault at deuce handed the American her first break point of the night and briefly brought the crowd of more than 20,000 fans to full throat.
But Sabalenka saved it immediately with a blistering forehand winner, followed with a winning forehand volley and escaped with the hold. I thought I didn’t play bad.” Then, in the blink of an eye, the set was over. With Pegula serving at 5-6, Sabalenka abruptly found another gear, ripping a backhand winner after an eight-shot exchange, drawing an error after another eight-shot rally and crushing a forehand winner off a second serve to reach 0-40.
Pegula saved the first set point but not the second, and a set that had been dead even moments earlier belonged to Sabalenka after 43 minutes. Sabalenka, going about her work like she had a cab waiting out front, carried her brisk pace into the second. Pegula held for 1-all, but two games later Sabalenka began attacking her opponent’s second serve, eventually breaking on her fourth opportunity with another forehand winner.
She consolidated for 4-1 and never let up, breaking Pegula again in the final game to complete a victory that had gone from tightly wound to emphatic. Sabalenka never dropped serve all night and faced only one break point. And for the third straight year, Sabalenka found a way through.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
