American Jessica Pegula to challenge Aryna Sabalenka for her first Grand Slam final

Jessica Pegula during her US Open semi-final against Karolina Muchova on September 5, 2024, in New York.

The 2024 US Open women’s final will pit American Jessica Pegula, world number 6, against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, number 2 in the WTA rankings, after their respective victories on Thursday, September 5, over Karolina Muchova and Emma Navarro.

Pegula, 30, who will be playing in front of her home crowd in her first Grand Slam final, will be an outsider against the player who has already won two Major titles. Winner of the Australian Open last year and at the start of this year, Sabalenka will have the opportunity on Saturday to become the first player to win both Majors played on hard courts in the same season since Germany’s Angelique Kerber in 2016.

After the elimination in the quarter-finals of world number one Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka was the only player in the semi-finals with experience of a Grand Slam title, and she showed it against the American Emma Navarro, a novice at this level of competition, for a 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory.

Read also | Australian Open: Aryna Sabalenka retains her crown in Melbourne

The 26-year-old dominated her opponent, 12e world by breaking her in particular in her first engagement in the first set. Navarro, 23, took the Belarusian’s serve in stride before suffering her powerful and deep shots. With a new break gained at 4-2, Sabalenka was able to conclude the first set serenely.

Leading 5-3 in the second set, the Belarusian saw Navarro suddenly raise her level, more aggressive on the return and finding awkward angles. The American, one of the revelations of the season with an eighth-final at Roland-Garros and a quarter-final at Wimbledon, who will enter the Top 10 on Monday (8e), thus pushed her opponent to a tie-break. Sabalenka was first guilty of a double fault (0-2) before showing a superb level, with ever stronger shots coupled with well-felt drop shots.

“At the end of the second set I was a little emotionally affected, it reminded me of moments from last year’s final, the encouragement from the crowd [pour son adversaire américaine] »she explained, referring to the title match she lost to Coco Gauff. “I worked hard on my mindset during matches, I improved my calm in key moments”she further developed.

Pegula comes back from afar

Aryna Sabalenka will probably have the crowd against her again in the final against Jessica Pegula who fought to get rid of the Czech Karolina Muchova (52)e) in the other semi-final 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The 30-year-old, in her first Grand Slam semi-final, was first outclassed by Muchova, a finalist at Roland-Garros last year, in a first set where the Czech’s varied play was exceptional. “She started by playing incredibly, she made me look like a beginner, she destroyed me”Pegula admitted to the stadium microphone.

Read also | US Open: Tennis tries to make a small place for itself amidst the controversies

The match turned when Muchova, who returned in June after a ten-month absence due to injury, missed a double break point at 2-0 in the second set, on a volley, she who had won all her points during her attacks to the net in the first set. Pegula then showed herself to be more and more solid at the baseline, no longer giving her opponent as much freedom to finally turn the match around.

Newsletter

“Sport”

Investigations, reports, analyses: sports news in your email inbox every Saturday

Register

“I finally started to find my way and by the end of the second set I started to play the way I wanted to.”she explained, confirming her full form, she who has won fifteen of her last sixteen matches. Her only defeat came in the final of the Cincinnati tournament in mid-August against… Sabalenka who leads 5-2 in their confrontations.

The World with AFP

Reuse this content

source site-28