On Thursday, the cheers of the home crowd reverberated through Arthur Ashe Stadium as Jessica Pegula made a remarkable comeback against Karolina Muchova, winning 1-6 6-4 6-2 and securing her spot in the first Grand Slam final of her career.
The possibility of an all-American final was dashed when Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka defeated Emma Navarro 6-3 7-6(2) in an earlier match. At one point in the later match, it seemed that there would be no American representation in the final. Pegula, playing in her first major semi-final, was outmatched by Muchova in a disastrous first set, but she managed to turn things around against the unseeded Czech. “It all comes down to small moments that shift the momentum,” said Pegula. “She made me look like a beginner…I was close to tears because it was humiliating. But then I started playing the way I wanted to and somehow managed to turn it around.”
Pegula struggled in the first set, only managing to hit three winners as Muchova showed no signs of rust despite her recent return from a wrist injury that had kept her out for almost 10 months. With the famously lively main court now eerily quiet, Muchova appeared to be on track to easily win the rest of the match after taking a 2-0 lead in the second set. However, Pegula gradually regained her form and broke Muchova’s serve in the fourth and sixth games. In the seventh game, Muchova managed to break back, but her mistakes continued to mount and she ended up double faulting on set point, giving Pegula the opportunity she needed to take the set. Encouraged by the enthusiastic crowd, Pegula raced through the first three games of the final set with near-perfect play, and with a fantastic forehand return, she sealed her victory over Muchova on her second match point.
In an earlier match, Sabalenka, the runner-up to American Coco Gauff last year, used her superior power to defeat Navarro, the 13th seed, with 34 winners and a satisfying overhead smash on match point. Navarro had defeated Gauff in the fourth round, but she was no match for the two-time Australian Open champion, even with the passionate home crowd cheering her on. Sabalenka, who jokingly promised the crowd a free round of drinks if they supported her over the home favourite, teased them after her win, saying, “Now you’re cheering for me – wow – a little late, isn’t it?” She added, “Even though you guys were rooting for her, I got goosebumps. She’s a great player and a tough opponent.”
In the first set, the two players traded breaks, but Sabalenka soon took control and gained momentum in the sixth game, breaking Navarro’s serve with a forehand winner and then saving Navarro’s break point in the seventh game with an unreturnable serve. Navarro injured her knee midway through the second set while chasing a shot, and Sabalenka seemed to be on the verge of victory when an error by the American helped her break in the fifth game. However, the 13th seed refused to give up and managed to break back in the tenth game, leading to a tiebreak. Sabalenka, once known for her tendency to get upset during matches, sarcastically gave her team a thumbs-up after double-faulting and falling behind 2-0 in the tiebreak, but she quickly got down to business and won an 18-shot rally at the net, ultimately winning the tiebreak. “I’m really pleased that I can stay focused and do my best in those crucial moments,” said Sabalenka. “Even when things aren’t going well for me, I continue to do the right things and keep control.”
