New York:
Aryna Sabalenka said she felt “extremely proud” to have won the US Open and claimed her third Grand Slam title with a thrilling victory over brave Jessica Pegula in a roller-coaster final on Saturday.
Sabalenka, ranked second in the world, won 7-5, 7-5, adding the New York title to her consecutive victories at the Australian Open.
But Pegula lost the match and recovered from a 0-3 deficit and broke serve to lead 5-3 in the second set before Sabalenka advanced.
The 26-year-old Belarusian racked up 40 winners to become the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to win both major titles on hard courts in the same season.
“I remember all those tough losses in the past here and it will seem easy, but never give up on your dream and keep trying, keep working hard,” said Sabalenka, last year’s runner-up and a 2022 semi-finalist. 2023.
“I’m speechless now. I often thought I was so close to winning the US Open title. This has always been a dream of mine and I finally got this beautiful trophy.
“I’m very proud of myself. I’m very proud of my team, too.”
Pegula arrived in New York with a title in Toronto and runner-up to Sabalenka in Cincinnati.
She has won 15 of her 16 North American summer hard court matches.
The American player said, “I wish you would at least let me have one set. We had a difficult match in Cincinnati a few weeks ago and she is one of the best players in the world.”
“She’s very strong and won’t give you anything. She can take the racket out of your hand.
“I’m glad I was able to stay there and keep taking chances.”
Sabalenka thanked the fans after clearly looking at the atmosphere she faced when she defeated New York-born Emma Navarro in the semi-finals.
“Honestly guys, thank you. I heard a lot of support. You were cheering for me in those good moments but of course I was expecting you to cheer for Jessica. I wouldn’t be normal if you were cheering for me.” He said.
“Thank you so much for all the support over these amazing two weeks.”
Sabalenka lost the 2023 US Open final to Pegula’s compatriot Coco Gauff and struggled to adapt during the early stages on Saturday after a series of errors gave the home favorite a break to take a 2-1 lead.
But the powerful Sabalenka immediately equalized and broke serve again to lead 4-2.
The ceremony was attended by 23,000 people, including sports royalty such as Olympic 100m gold medalist Noah Lyles, NBA star Steph Curry and former Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Most of them were behind Pegula, but the 30-year-old was defenseless against the world number two’s brutal blows, her screams echoing under the closed roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Pegula, who knocked out world number one Iga Swiatek, held her ground, then fought back from a set and broke her serve to beat Karolina Muchova in the semi-finals.
After trailing 2-5, she responded 5-5 to break Sabalenka’s serve so that the Australian Open champion could serve for the set.
But in the twelfth marathon match, Pegula saved four set points, but did not save the fifth.
Sabalenka hit 25 successful shots and committed 23 unforced errors, compared to nine and 11 for Pegula, which illustrates the great contrast between styles in the opening match, which lasted 60 minutes.
For the second game in a row, Pegula quickly reclaimed the set and broke serve again, after a double fault allowed Sabalenka to take a 3-0 lead.
Incredibly, the 30-year-old stormed back to a 5-3 lead before Sabalenka served in the 10th game as her opponent tried to level the match in the final.
Sabalenka held her nerve to claim victory when Pegula went away with an exhausting drive.
“If I can’t get confidence from this, then something must be wrong,” Pegula said of her performance.
“I’m kind of upset. I feel like I should have done better and stuff like that. But I think this will pass for a little bit.”