Aryna Sabalenka was con f ident but cautious as she headed to her second straight United States Open women’s singles final. She had su f fered a heartbreak last year, losing to the relatively inexperienced Coco Gau f f despite having taken the f irst set, but it gave her the benefit of experience. And, of course, it helped that she was just three weeks removed from having taken the measure of fellow finalist Jessica Pegula at the Cincinnati Open.
This time around, she felt, she would have the resolve to get her through in-match adversity. Sabalenka was, to be sure, heavily favored in the final the other day. True, she missed Wimbledon and, by choice, the Paris Games following a shoulder injury.
And, true, she had demons to conquer at Flushing Meadows, where all her proficiency in hard courts could hitherto muster was last year’s bridesmaid finish and two previous Round of Four appearances. On the other hand, she wasn’t World Number Two for nothing, and with Pegula having made short work of top seed Iga Swiatek on the quarterfinals, she had in her hands a grand opportunity to finish her campaign over the last fortnight in a blaze of glory. When the battlesmoke cleared, Sabalenka did get to meet her date with destiny.
She faced a heady challenge from Pegula, but she proved to be the more aggressive player under pressure. Unafraid to crowd the lines and go for high-risk shots, she found herself dictating tempo for the most part. And although the match featured plenty of gi.