Aryna Sabalenka moved within one match of a rare Flushing Meadows milestone on Thursday, defeating Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 to secure her place in the U.S. Open final. A title win on Saturday would make her the first woman to claim three straight U.S. Open crowns since Serena Williams achieved the feat from 2012 to 2014. The opening set remained competitive through the first ten games as Pegula leaned on an exceptionally efficient first serve to match the top seed. Serving to force a tiebreak at 5-6, however, the American faltered under an onslaught of deep baseline returns. Sabalenka capitalized on consecutive errors and struck cleanly from both wings to break Pegula and claim the set. From there, the momentum swung entirely in Sabalenka’s favor. The Belarusian took full control in the second set, punishing Pegula’s second delivery and breaking early for a 3-1 advantage. She tallied 29 winners to Pegula’s 12 while capturing 14 of 19 points played on Pegula’s second serve, ultimately wrapping up the contest in straight sets. The victory extends Sabalenka’s winning run in New York to 19 matches, dating back to the 2023 final. While she is slated to yield the world No. 1 ranking to Elena Rybakina when the next WTA rankings are published, Sabalenka remains firmly focused on defending her silverware. Pegula, the No. 3 seed who leads the tour in hard-court match wins this season, leaves Flushing Meadows still searching for an elusive maiden Grand Slam trophy. Sabalenka will face either Rybakina or No. 4 seed Coco Gauff in Saturday’s championship match. Post navigation India Bundles Pakistan Out for Record-Low 55 in Women’s Asia Cup Clash
