Ayrna Sabalenka is a victory away from defending her Maiden US Open title. On Thursday evening, the 27-year-old Belarusian won an unplanned resignation and a scratching opening to reject the familiar enemy Jessica Pegula with 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first semifinal of the ladies in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The victory, Sabalenka’s third consecutive in the US Open Semis, has not only set her up to claim her first Grand Slam title this season. With a successful defense on Saturday, she would be the first player to repeat as women’s champion at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams’s titles from 2012 to 2014.
“It was really a tough game,” Sabalenka then said on the field. “I had to work hard to achieve this victory. She is such a great player, such a great hunter. Hopefully I can go all the way again. And thank guys for bringing the best atmosphere.”
On Saturday, Sabalenka will be confronted with Amanda Anisimova, who has a 6-3 head-to-head matchup edge and defeated the most recently Sabalenka in three sets to go to the Wimbledon final of this year; Or double American open champion Naomi Osaka, who has a perfect record in Grand Slam tournaments when she goes beyond the quarterfinals. The victory of Sabalenka restores the momentum that she lost when Marketa Vondrousova stopped from their quarterfinals on Tuesday, leaving the world no. 1 with a few unexpected leisure time.
Certainly, the fourth placed Pegula came into the semi -final to avenge her loss against Sabalenka in the final here last year, which was closer than the score with two sets suggests. In that match, Sabalenka was able to win the big points by luring Pegula in an ambush with her drop -shot. This time, however, the American was not only alert to the fall; She jumped one of her own by surprising her opponent with net grazing foundations that Sabalenka had almost dropped on one knee to dig them from the baseline with her slice of backhand. That tactic and a little more Canny Redirection is how Pegula Sabalenka broke to cut in the early 4-2 lead of the Belarus. She broke her back on her way to take her first single Sabalenka, because they last played each other here during Covid – when the Billie Jean National Tennis Center played Noodhost to the Cincinnati Open.
But Sabalenka put the ship fast and won the next three games to put pressure on Pegula, who was pushed out of her low risk, steady play game and forced to go. Once out of her element, and pressed to play at a faster pace with the roof closed due to the threat of rain, she became more vulnerable to Sabalenka’s Drop -shot bushwhacks and was a lot of shakier on serve. At 5FT 7 in, Pegula does not produce the most powerful serve, but it can place it with pinpoint -nouvulus. What is more, she came in second place in the tournament in second -viewing points on Thursday evening. The thing is: Sabalenka had also distinguished itself as the second best service backper of the tournament.
Eventually it was the 43 winners of Sabalenka against the 32 forced mistakes of Pegula who proven the American to undo. She struggled to score points on the Serve of Sabalenka, had no answer to the wild power of her opponent and no tricks left to shift her focus. Historically in these big competitions, Sabalenka is the one who gives crowds a reason to stay alert to the potential of an emotional eruption. This time it was the mostly calm Pegula who showed flashes of frustration. Again, her steady game was not a match for Sabalenka, who brings her early unripe stripes into the back view during every victory, while being offered to her on a great status of all time.
“There were some things, very small things, I could have done differently,” said Pegula. “But when she goes outside and I achieved a good return and she will play winners of the first ball, literally some of them at stake, I don’t know what I should do about it.”
Sabalenka has built up such a lead in the WTA ranking that she will retain the No. 1 place, whatever happens on Saturday, or the rest of the season – what a comfort could be if she had not already made it clear that she prists titles over rankings. A victory on Saturday would bring Sabalenka to 99 career victories in Grand Slam head drawing. No, it’s not the beautiful, round number – not yet. But one gets the feeling that she will not prevent it from working harder for it.
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