World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka powered her way past American Jessica Pegula in 3 sets to reach her second consecutive US Open final and has given herself a great chance of defending her title on Saturday night.
It was a thriller of a match where a temperamentally thin Sabalenka came from a set down to beat Pegula in front of a fairly partisan crowd, cheering for their own. Sabalenka dumped her frailties, stood strong, trusted her game, and emerged triumphant in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
Pegula gave her all too, and though she lost the match, she was hardly behind Sabalenka. There wasn’t much to choose between the two players, just that Sabalenka held her nerve when it critically mattered.
The match was so close that in my opinion, it was just a matter of a point, which in a way decided the course of the match. Both Sabalenka and Pegula had 7 break points against each other, of which Pegula converted 2, while Sabalenka managed to convert 3 and win the second and the third sets. That one extra break point effectively turned the match in Sabalenka’s favour. Of the total points between the two players, Sabalenka won 90 against 88 points by Pegula.
It was indeed an extremely close affair, and had Sabalenka not closed out the match on her serve at 5-4 in the third set, the match could well have taken a different twist. Pegula saved two match points before Sabalenka nailed a forehand winner to take the match.
The stroke-making was brilliant from both players, slugging it out as the New York night began to grow. Sabalenka was much stronger on her serve and won more points on her serve than receiving from Pegula. The fully packed Arthur Ashe Stadium had a constant buzz around as Sabalenka and Pegula fought hard for every point.
Sabalenka would now face either Naomi Osaka or Amanda Anisimova, who beat her not long ago in the semi-finals of Wimbledon. Whosoever she plays, Sabalenka looks the favourite to retain her US Open crown.
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