By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, September 7, 2024
Aryna Sabalenka won the final four games defeating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in the US Open final to capture her third career major championship.
Photo credit: Jamie Squire/Getty
NEW YORK—Over dreaming on court was a stumbling block for Aryna Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final.
Mired in a five-game slide tonight, Sabalenka slashed self doubt and showed closing power to achieve the US Open dream.
Unleashing all-court skills, Sabalenka charged through four games in a row defeating American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 to capture her first US Open crown a year after she lost a one-set lead and a fell in tears to Coco Gauff in the 2023 final.
Hall of Famer Billie Jean King presented Sabalenka with the shiny, silver US Open trophy she raised along with the champion's check of $3.6 million.
It is Sabalenka’s third career Grand Slam championship and second of the 2024 season as she bookends this year winning the Australian Open and US Open championships.
The second-seeded Sabalenka joins an elite list of champions—Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis and Angelique Kerber—as the fifth woman in Open Era history to master Melbourne and New York in the same season.
Fighting back from 3-5 down in the second set, the 26-year-old Sabalenka is the second-oldest woman, after Kerber, to win the US Open and Australian Open in the same season.
“Oh my God I’m speechless right now,” Sabalenka told ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez afterward. “As you said so many times I thought I was so close to get the US Open title. It’s always been a dream of mine and finally I got this beautiful trophy.
“It means a lot. It was really a difficult couple of weeks and talking about Jessica I know how tough it is to lose in the finals. But you’re showing some amazing tennis and I’m more than sure that one day you’re gonna get one. I mean not one, but maybe more, but let’s start with one Grand Slam….In that second set I was praying there. I was standing there praying for getting this win.”
In a match of wild momentum shifts, a persistent Pegula reeled off five games in a row to take charge of the second set only to see Sabalenka dig down and fly through the final four games.
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Two-time Canadian Open champion Pegula fought with grit posting a 15-2 record during this North American summer hard-court season with her only losses coming to a stronger Sabalenka.
“It’s been an incredible month for me. I had a rough start to the year but was really able to turn it around,” Pegula said on court. “To be able to be standing here in my first Grand Slam final and coming off such a hot summer I didn’t expect it so I’m just really grateful for the last free weeks of tennis and some incredible matches that I’ve been able to put together.”
Poised to take this final into a third set, Pegula faced a barrage of baseline drives from Sabalenka, who more than doubled the American’s winner total: 40 to 17. Sabalenka pushed forward at crunch time winning 18 of 23 points at net tonight.
“I wish you would have at least let me get one set,” Pegula joked with Sabalenka on court. “We had a tough match in Cincinnati a few weeks ago. And she’s been playing some amazing hard-court tennis. If not the best hard-court player in the world so I knew it was going to be challenging and tough.
“She’s super powerful and goes for her shots. She’s definitely not going to give you anything and she can take the racquet out of your hands a lot of time. I’m happy I was able to fight back and give myself a chance. In the end it wasn’t enough.” Riding an 11-match winning streak into the final, Sabalenka showed maturity when the final heated up.
A year ago, Sabalenka dissolved squandering her one-set lead and succumbing to Gauff’s blinding speed and 24,000 American fans screaming support.
When her moment of truth arrived tonight, the woman wearing the tiger tattoo on her forearm roared. Sabalenka played with power, poise and perseverance and, as she’s done throughout this fortnight, had Flushing Meadows fans standing in salute to her efforts.
Fittingly, the final featured the two best hard-court players of the summer season.
Two-time Canadian Open champion Pegula had won 15 of her last 16 matches leading into this final, including toppling world No. 1 and 2022 champion Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals.
The sound of swarming rain pounding the retractable roof reverberated throughout Arthur Ashe Stadium as Sabalenka recovered from love-30 down for the opening hold.
Contesting her maiden major final in her 23 Grand Slam appearance, Pegula took off her headphones to hear the crowd roar as she walked onto Ashe.
Stamping a strong hold to level, Pegula drew first-break blood in the third game. Pounding a return back through the middle that danced near Sabalenka’s shoelaces, Pegula broke with a bang for 2-1.
Ripping returns off a series of second serves, Sabalenka broke right back in the fourth game to level.
Amping up the volume of her grunts and drives, Sabalenka threw down a couple of smashes holding for 3-2. Picking on the American’s forehand, Sabalenka provoked a couple of forehand errors breaking at 15 for 4-2. Pegula was banging her palm against the string bed of her Yonex racquet trying to recalibrate.
Superior explosiveness off every shot is one reason why Sabalenka had beaten Pegula in five of seven meetings.
The Belarusian blasted a 119 mph missile down the middle—her third ace—sealing her fourth game in a row for 5-2 after 28 minutes.
Serving for the set, Sabalenka slapped a forehand into net to face break point. Running around her backhand, the Belarusian sent a forehand long—her fourth error of a nervy game—as Pegula broke back in the ninth game.
A pumped-up Pegula held at 30 to level the set, 5-5, as Sabalenka was scattering shots beyond the lines. Dumping a double fault into net to face break point, Sabalenka leaned and swiped her Wilson racquet off the court five times.
That display was stress relief: Sabalenka held firm through a tense 14-point game edging ahead 6-5 as her entire box leaped to its feet knowing the importance of that game.
Trying to play it safe down the middle, Pegula found the net then spiked her racquet off the court in disgust facing double set point at 15-40. Pegula won the longest rally of the match to erase the first set point.
An over-eager Sabalenka sailed a return on the second set point. Pegula saved a third set point.
Exploiting a deep return, Sabalenka dabbed a dropper then spun a running forehand down the line for a fourth set point. Again, Pegula denied it.
Relentless Sabalenka power brought her a fifth set point. This time, Sabalenka flicked a backhand drop shot Pegula could not reach closing an entertaining opening set in one hour.
Sabalenka was the proactive player throughout the set: She won 12 of 13 trips to net and hit 16 more winners than Pegula—25 to 9.
In last month’s Cincinnati final, Sabalenka slammed down six love holds stopping Pegula 6-3, 7-5 to roar to her first Cincinnati Open championship. In the Queen City, Sabalenka served 67 percent, won 31 of 34 first-serve points, pounded down 10 aces against 1 double fault and did not trail in any service game until jitters struck when she initially served for the match at 6-3, 5-4.
In today’s rematch, Sabalenka whipped her first serve to set up the first strike and terrorized Pegula’s second serve. Sabalenka had won 14 of 17 points played on the American’s second serve when a pressured Pegula double-faulted away the break in her first service game of the second set.
A frustrated Pegula, who was persistently pounding her palm off the racquet face, bounced her racquet off the court in disgust.
A free-flowing Sabalenka scorched her fifth ace down the T completing a love hold for a 7-5, 3-0 lead after one hours, 11 minutes.
The sixth seed made a determined stand breaking back in the fifth game. Sabalenka had a clear look at a backhand pass down the line but pulled it wide as Pegula won her third game in a row for 3-all.
At that point, Pegula was covering the court quicker and setting up for her shots with more care.
That spirited stand brought some fans to their feet.
Tapping into the crowd energy, Pegula broke again—her fourth game in a row—for 4-3 when Sabalenka netted a stretched forehand.
Straddling the baseline, Pegula was taking the ball early, countering Sabalenka’s heavy drives and pushing the Belarusian back behind the baseline. Pegula reeled off her fifth game in a row and fans roared in support as she went up 5-3.
When Pegula served to force a final set, Sabalenka ratcheted up her aggression. Smacking a forehand inside the sideline, Sabalenka broke back with a shout to level after 10 games.
Sabalenka held strong for 6-5 then earned double championship point on a Pegula error. The American dug in denied the first championship point.
On the second, Sabalenka danced around her backhand, slashed a forehand approach then blocked a high forehand volley to close a hard-fought US Open final in one hour, 53 minutes.
The day wasn’t done for Sabalenka, who climbed into the crowd, high-fiving fans and taking selfies along the way until she reached her box for a massive group hug.
In some ways, 2024 has been the best of times and worst of times for Sabalenka, who endured personal tragedy in Miami last March when her former partner Konstantin Koltsov died after falling from his Miami hotel balcony.
Sabalenka, whose dad died suddenly at age 43 in 2019, endured the pain of her father’s passing, the loss of her former partner this year as well as a shoulder injury that knocked her out of Wimbledon.
Personal and professional losses have not deterred Sabalenka from chasing the dream and tonight she realized it, transforming those tears of pain into the grateful grin of a champion again.
“I remember all those tough losses in the past year and you know it’s gonna sound easy but never give up on your dream, keep trying, keep working hard,” Sabalenka said. “If you are really working hard and you sacrifice everything for your dream you’re gonna get it one day.
“I’m super proud of myself. I never say that guys, but I’m super proud of myself and my team. No matter what situation we were facing we were able to go through it and get all those beautiful trophies.”
Now comes the beauty of the celebration.
Asked by Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst Chrissie Evert how she planned to celebrate this US Open championship, Sabalenka offered a festive answer.
"Probably, we're gonna drink a lot," Sabalenka said. "Probably we're gonna go to that bar and we just gonna stay there until tomorrow."