Aryna Sabalenka, the current world number one from Belarus, is through to the US Open final for the third year in a row. On Thursday, she came back from losing the first set to beat American fourth seed Jessica Pegula with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The match lasted just over two hours on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Sabalenka, who is the defending champion, will play in the final on Saturday against either Naomi Osaka from Japan or American Amanda Anisimova.
If Sabalenka wins the final, she’ll be the first woman to win back-to-back US Open titles since Serena Williams did it in 2014.
After the match, Sabalenka said: “It was a really tough match – she played amazing as always, and I had to fight hard to win. I’m really happy to be in the final again and hope I can win it one more time.”
Pegula took the first set after coming back from being 4-2 down. She broke Sabalenka’s serve twice and ended the set strongly, winning two service games in a row without losing a point.
But Sabalenka responded well in the second set, breaking Pegula early and keeping her lead to level the match at one set each.
In the final set, Sabalenka broke Pegula’s serve again and took a 3-1 lead. Pegula tried to fight back and had chances to break Sabalenka, but couldn’t take them. Sabalenka stayed calm and held her serve under pressure to win the match.
Sabalenka now has a chance to win her second US Open title and continue her strong form at this tournament.
