New York, Sept. 5 -- Top seed Aryna Sabalenka showed her trademark resilience and mental strength as she battled from a set down to outlast fourth seed Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and storm into her third straight US Open final here today IST.
In a repeat of last year's title clash, Pegula threatened to turn the tables when she pocketed the opening set, buoyed by a raucous New York crowd. The American capitalised on Sabalenka's unforced errors after trailing 2-4, breaking twice to clinch the set 6-4 with authority.
The Belarusian, however, returned from an off-court break with renewed determination. She raised the intensity of her groundstrokes and quickly surged to a 3-0 lead in the second set. Maintaining control thereafter, Sabalenka ...