By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday September 5, 2024
Jessica Pegula won 12 of the final 16 games to defeat Karolina Muchova and reach her maiden Grand Slam final.
Photo Source: TTV
New York—It was getting late early for Jessica Pegula on Thursday.
Facing a red-hot Karolina Muchova, the Buffalo, NY native had dropped eight of the first nine games, and the Czech even had a break point for a double break lead, 6-1, 3-0 lead.
Pegula saved the break point, as Muchova missed a volley, and the screws began to turn.
The American would win 12 of the next 16 games to earn a hard-fought 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory in two hours and 12 minutes.
With her win, Pegula becomes the third American to reach a US Open final beyond the age of 30, and the first to do it since Serena Williams in 2019.
“I went down 2-0 pretty quickly and down in that service game and was able to make that kind of really good get where she missed that volley, and seemed like that was a big momentum swing,” Pegula said after the win, in her post-match press conference.
“I was able to just hold on to my serve there and find a way. I think the crowd really helped me get some adrenaline into me.”
Pegula, who had lost her first six Grand Slam quarterfinals prior to Wednesday’s emphatic win over World No.1 Iga Swiatek, has proven to be a quick study in her maiden major semifinal. She will face No.2-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
She had to battle to get there in front of a packed house in Arthur Ashe Stadium in Thursday’s second night session semifinal.
“That was quite the match,” she said. “Obviously happy to be here sitting saying that I turned it around, but obviously it was looking a little rough there for a while. But somehow I found a way and was actually able to play some really good tennis and keep that momentum, you know, a lot through that third set and close it out.
“I thought in the third we had some really good tennis, end of the second and into the third. Just happy with the way I was able to compete.”
Neither player had dropped a set prior to Thursday’s clash, but after one hour and 23 minutes of tennis, the match was even. Muchova, so stellar and playing with so much clarity in the opening set, was looking tired.
The Czech fell behind 3-0 in the final set, but summoned her reserves to make Pegula earn the win.
Muchova twice had a break point to get back on serve in the final set, with Pegula serving at 3-1 and 4-2, but she couldn’t get past Pegula, who then broke for a second time to close out the match.
After her win Pegula reflected on her low moments.
“I don't know if I thought it's not going to happen, but there's definitely moments where either I didn't want to play tennis, I didn't really know if I wanted to do it anymore. I mean, you definitely hit those types of low moments,” she said, adding: “I always felt like, you know what, you'll figure it out eventually. That's always something I've always told myself, I'll figure it out, like, one of these times.”
That time is now.