Aryna Sabalenka pressed home her claim to be the best hard-court player in the world as she won her maiden US Open title. Sabalenka won a fabulously entertaining final against Jessica Pegula, the doughty American, who nevertheless made her toil for her success. It was a hard-earned triumph, and there were moments when Sabalenka must have feared a repeat of last year’s final here against Coco Gauff: a match in which she lost her target computer and committed dozens of unforced errors.
This time, though, Sabalenka held her nerve even when Pegula threatened a repeat of Gauff’s comeback from one set down. In the end, the woman with the tiger tattoo had the might, the fight and the bite to overcome Pegula’s courageous challenge by a 7-5, 7-5 scoreline. Sabalenka climbed into the stands after claiming the final point with one of her inexorable dashes to the net – a tactic that won her 18 points from 23 attempts.
She wept in the arms of her boyfriend, businessman Georgio Frangulis, and then kissed the bald head of her fitness coach Jason Stacy – which has now also been emblazoned with a tiger tattoo. Teamwork made Aryna's dream work 🏆 — US Open Tennis (@usopen) Sabalenka had missed Wimbledon and the Olympic Games on account of a shoulder injury which prevented her from serving properly. Here, though, her serve was ferocious, reaching a high point of 119mph.
The contest felt like a heavyweight taking on a bantamweight. Pegula managed to extend it further than many woul.