Aryna Sabalenka confirmed her status as the best hard-court player on the planet when beating Jessica Pegula for her first US Open title. It was a revenge of sorts for Sabalenka, who lost the US Open final to Coco Gauff last year but this time came out on top in a pulsating showdown against another American hopeful. Pegula was into her first grand slam final at the age of 30, but fell short of a dream title in her home state as 26-year-old Sabalenka typically dictated the match with her attacking style, sending down 40 winners – and hitting 34 unforced errors – en route to winning 7-5, 7-5.
At one point Sabalenka must have felt the match was following a familiar pattern, but from 3-0 up, she then recovered from 5-4 down to win the next three games and deny Pegula a decider. Read Next Jack Draper's US Open vomiting shows what he needs to do to win a grand slam Victory means Sabalenka now boasts a 27-1 record at the last four hard-court slams, given she is also the back-to-back Australian Open champion , and was overcome with emotion when winning her second major of the year. “So many times I was so close to getting the US Open title,” Sabalenka said.
“It’s a dream of mine, and finally I’ve got this beautiful trophy. “That second set, I was literally praying to get this win. It means a lot.
I remember all those tough losses in the past here. I’m just super proud of myself, and I never say that, but I am. I’m super proud of myself and my team.
” ARYNA SABALE.