Aryna Sabalenka won the US Open and her third Grand Slam crown with a thrilling victory over a gallant Jessica Pegula in a rollercoaster final on Saturday. World number two Sabalenka triumphed 7-5, 7-5 to add the New York title to her back-to-back Australian Open victories. Pegula went down fighting, however, recovering from 0-3 and break point down to lead 5-3 in the second set before Sabalenka came through.

The 26-year-old from Belarus clubbed 40 winners to become the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to capture both hardcourt majors in the same season.

Sabalenka lost the 2023 US Open final to Pegula’s compatriot Coco Gauff and she struggled to settle in during the early stages on Saturday as a flurry of errors handed the home favourite a break for 2-1.

But the powerful Sabalenka levelled immediately and broke again for 4-2.

A capacity crowd of 23,000 included sporting royalty such as Olympic 100m gold medallist Noah Lyles, NBA star Steph Curry and former Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton watched on.

Most were behind Pegula but the 30-year-old was defenceless against the remorseless hitting of the world number two, whose screams echoed beneath the closed roof of the cavernous Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Pegula, who had knocked out world number one Iga Swiatek and then battled from a set and break down to see off Karolina Muchova in the semi-final, clung on.

From 2-5 down, she hit back for 5-5, breaking Sabalenka as the Australian Open champion served for the set.

In a marathon 12th game, however, Pegula saved four set points but not the fifth.

Sabalenka had unleashed 25 winners and committed 23 unforced errors to Pegula’s nine and 11, illustrating a dramatic contrast of styles in the 60-minute opener.

For the second match in succession, Pegula was soon a set and break down again, a double fault allowing Sabalenka to move ahead 3-0.

Incredibly, the 30-year-old stormed back to lead 5-3 before Sabalenka broke in the 10th game as her opponent attempted to level the final.

Sabalenka held her nerve to claim victory when Pegula went long with a weary drive.

Jessica Pegula staged an astonishing recovery from a set and a break down to defeat Karolina Muchova and reach her first Grand Slam final at the US Open on Thursday. The sixth-ranked American came through 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 and will take on world number two and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s championship match. Sabalenka reached her second successive US Open final by seeing off another American, Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6 (7/2).

“I thought I was lucky to still be in it,” admitted Pegula after seeing Czech opponent Muchova miss an easy chance to go 3-0 up with a double break in the second set.

“She made me look like a beginner, she was destroying me and I was about to burst into tears but it all came down to small moments.

“I don’t know how I turned that around.”

Pegula has now won 15 of 16 matches on the US summer hard court swing which saw a title in Toronto and defeat in the Cincinnati final to Sabalenka.

“It’s a chance for revenge, but she’ll be tough to beat,” said Pegula.

Muchova saved three break points in the third game of the first set which sparked a rapid collapse by Pegula.

The 30-year-old American dropped serve in the fourth and sixth games and lost a set for the first time in the tournament.

Muchova’a all-court game yielded 11 winners to her opponent’s three as the opener was wrapped up in just 28 minutes.

It was a severe comedown for Pegula who had knocked out world number one Iga Swiatek on Wednesday to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final after losing all six of her previous last-eight matches.

Muchova then broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set, racking up a seventh game in a row before Pegula stopped the rot.

That suddenly reinvigorated the American who went 4-2 ahead before being pulled back to 4-4 but then levelled the semi-final when Muchova double-faulted on set point.

Pegula sprinted to a break up at 3-0 in the decider and then 5-2 after a seventh game which stretched to alnmost 10 minutes.

The last of Muchova’s 46 unforced errors sealed her fate.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka reached a second successive US Open final on Thursday when she defeated a battling Emma Navarro as well as a partisan crowd to move one win away from her third Grand Slam title. Double Australian Open champion Sabalenka triumphed over the 13th-seeded American 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) and will face either Jessica Pegula of the United States or the Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova in Saturday’s final. Navarro, playing in her first semi-final at the majors, went down fighting, however, when she clawed her way back from 3-5 down in the second set to take her chances in a tiebreak.

Sabalenka sent down 34 winners to the 13 of the 23-year-old American in the tie.

“Guys, now you’re cheering for me. Wow. It’s a bit too late,” Sabalenka told the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.

“It really means a lot and even though you guys were supporting her still I had the goose bumps for you cheering. It was an incredible atmosphere.”

She added: “I don’t really care who I face in the final because today was a good test of the crowd cheering for my opponent and even if it is gong to be Pegula, I don’t care. I’m ready to face whoever.”

The Florida-based Belarusian, runner-up to Coco Gauff of the US in New York last year, called on her raw power to secure the first set, nullifying Navarro’s smart use of the angles.

Although an early break was cancelled out by the American, the 26-year-old edged ahead again in the sixth game before securing the opener on the back of 16 winners, twice as many as Navarro.

Sabalenka stretched to a 3-2 lead with a break in the second set with Navarro having to fend off more break points to avoid slipping to a 2-5 deficit.

That breathed new life into her challenge and she broke Sabalenka when her rival served for the match, pulling level for 5-5.

She even enjoyed a mini-break in the tiebreak before Sabalenka stormed back for victory.

– Pegula, Muchova eye final –

After losing six Grand Slam quarter-finals, 30-year-old Pegula is into her maiden semi-final and has not dropped a set over five rounds.

On Wednesday, she knocked out top seed and four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek for the loss of just six games.

It was Pegula’s fourth win on hard courts against the Pole — after her three other wins she went on to claim the title.

“Finally, finally, I can say I’m a semi-finalist,” said Pegula.

“To do it at prime time against the number one player in the world, it’s crazy, but I knew I could do it.”

After winning the Toronto title and finishing runner-up in Cincinnati, Pegula has won 14 of her 15 matches on the US hard court swing, including a three-set victory over Muchova in Cincinnati.

Muchova is in the semi-finals in New York for a second successive year and also has not dropped a set.

She made the French Open final in 2023, rising to a career-high eighth in the world, before suffering a serious right wrist injury which required surgery.

She only returned in June this year.

“There were a few bad days, and then I always try to just regroup and focus on the step that I could do, what’s the first step I can do towards recovery,” she said.

Aryna Sabalenka in action© AFP

Alexander Zverev and fellow Grand Slam veteran Grigor Dimitrov look to make the US Open semi-finals on Tuesday and take a step closer to maiden Grand Slam titles. US duo Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe are standing in their way as they aim to end their country’s 21-year wait for a male Slam champion. In the women’s draw, world number two Aryna Sabalenka, the runner-up in 2023, faces Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen while Emma Navarro takes on Paula Badosa in a clash between two women born in New York.

AFP Sport looks at Tuesday’s four quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows (x denotes seeded player):

Taylor Fritz (USA x12) v Alexander Zverev (GER x4)

Head-to-head: Zverev leads 5-4

— Zverev was runner-up to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 US Open final where he gave up a two sets lead.

The German star also came off second-best to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final in June this year in another five-setter.

With four-time champion Novak Djokovic knocked out in the third round, the 27-year-old Zverev is the highest-ranked man left in his half of the draw as he seeks a third appearance in the semi-finals in New York.

“I’m doing everything I can to win a Slam, everything else is out of my power,” he said.

“I’m trying my best and hopefully it will be enough at some stage in my career.”

Fritz made the last-eight in 2023 and has already reached three quarter-finals at the Slams this year.

Fritz defeated Zverev in the fourth round at Wimbledon in July from two sets down with the German hampered by a knee injury which forced him to complete the match “on one leg”.

Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x9) v Frances Tiafoe (USA x20)

Head-to-head: Dimitrov leads 3-1

At 33, Dimitrov is the oldest man left in the draw and is seeking a second semi-final spot in New York after making the last four in 2019.

Back then, Dimitrov defeated Roger Federer in the last-eight, ending the Swiss legend’s US Open career before losing to Daniil Medvedev.

Widely regarded as one of the finest players never to win a Grand Slam title, Dimitrov has yet to even make a final at the majors after 15 years of trying.

Tiafoe, the tournament’s great entertainer, is in the quarter-finals for a third successive year.

He made the semi-finals in 2022 where he lost in five sets to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Paula Badosa (ESP x26) v Emma Navarro (USA x13)

Head-to-head: Badosa leads 1-0

— Badosa is in the last-eight in New York for the first time having never previously passed the second round.

The Spanish star, who was born in the city, has enjoyed a dramatic reversal of fortunes after being on the brink of retirement just three months ago due to a stress fracture of the back.

“I was feeling pain every day I was waking up. So for me, it didn’t make sense,” said Badosa of the injury which sent her world ranking plummeting out of the top 100.

Badosa is the first Spanish woman to make the quarter-finals since Carla Suarez Navarro in 2018 while it has been 28 years since a Spaniard last reached the semi-finals. That honour fell to Conchita Martinez.

Navarro made her first US Open quarter-final by knocking out defending champion Coco Gauff in three sets on Sunday.

Before this year, the 12th-ranked American had lost in the first round in her two previous visits.

Zheng Qinwen (CHN x7) v Aryna Sabalenka (BLR x2)

Head-to-head: Sabalenka leads 2-0

— Olympic champion Zheng seeks to avenge her Australian Open final defeat to Sabalenka.

The Chinese star has made the quarter-finals for a second successive year after also losing to Sabalenka in 2023.

Zheng has already made history at this year’s US Open by defeating Donna Vekic in the latest ever finish for a women’s match of 2:15 a.m. on Monday.

She is only the second Chinese woman to have reached two quarter-finals in New York after famed compatriot Li Na in 2009 and 2013.

Zheng has sent down a tournament-leading 49 aces over four rounds while the equally powerful Sabalenka has only dropped serve four times.

Sabalenka is in her fourth successive US Open quarter-final.

Aryna Sabalenka, whose 2024 season opened in triumph at the Australian Open only for heartache and injury to intervene, has found renewed joy as she aims to close the year on a high at the US Open. The 26-year-old from Belarus, who missed Wimbledon with a shoulder injury, won her first title since the Australian Open in January in Cincinnati last week. She posted a confidence-building victory over world number one Iga Swiatek, and played with the hard-won enjoyment that comes from a better balance in her life.

“This joy came with the experience and with the understanding of a lot of stuff,” Sabalenka said Friday as she prepared for the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the season that starts on Monday at Flushing Meadows.

“Because before, I was probably too much into tennis and trying to be too focused, like, putting myself under so much pressure.

“Lately, I just realized that this is not how things work. You have to balance this hard work, these expectations, pressure, and everything, with a little joy.

“You have to find things which brings you joy, and I have my crazy team and we have so much fun together.”

Sabalenka’s year took a difficult turn with the death of her former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov in March.

With hindsight, Sabalenka said, she would have probably benefitted from taking some time off, rather than sticking to her planned schedule.

“I definitely think that I should have just stopped and just kind of, like, separate myself from tennis, just have this little break and recharge and kind of start things over again,” she said.

“I think I kind of overplayed, and I carried a lot. At the end, it just hit me with the injury, and also, I was sick, I was injured. I had stomach issue at the French Open.

“Health-wise I was struggling a lot.”

The enforced rest necessitated by her shoulder injury was, in fact, just what she needed, Sabalenka said.

“Not like I’m happy to get injured, but I’m happy that I had this time off and this kind of time to reset my mind,” she said.

The benefits were clear in Cincinnati, where she held on through nine wasted match points to defeat Swiatek in the semi-finals.

It was ideal preparation as she tries to improve on her runner-up finish to Coco Gauff in last year’s US Open final.

“I definitely felt really good after Cincinnati title. It was very important for me to get that title and to get those wins,” said Sabalenka, the second seed in New York who will open her campaign against Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon.

“The first two tournaments (back) were tricky with the shoulder. But I’m really happy that in Cincinnati things clicked for me, and I trust the hard work we did. I’m pretty sure that I’m not going to get injured again.”

Aryna Sabalenka thrust herself into US Open title contention on Monday with a 6-3, 7-5 defeat of Jessica Pegula to win the ATP/WTA Cincinnati Open. The third seed who missed Wimbledon with a shoulder injury won a trophy for the first time since collecting her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January. Sabalenka had it all her way against the American sixth seed until the closing stages when she lost serve for the first time leading a set and 5-4. But a quick re-break and another hold of serve solved that problem and produced a first Masters-level trophy on hardcourt since 2021 for the Belarus player. 

“I really couldn’t have wished for more — it was a really great day at the office,” Sabalenka said afterwards. 

“Just super happy with the level I played in the final and I was able to get this title. It’s really important going into the US Open.”

Sabalenka — beaten in last year’s US Open final — has now defeated Pegula, champion last week in Toronto, in five of seven matches. 

The winner will move to second in the world in the WTA rankings and has emerged as a serious contender when the Open begins in New York next Monday. 

“I’m sure Jess and I will have more battles in the future,” Sabalenka said. “Let’s keep it up.”

The win marked Sabalenka’s sixth WTA 1000 title and the 15th of her career. 

She fired 10 aces and broke three times in the 1hr 15min success. 

Pegula had been hoping for a trophy double after winning Montreal last week.

“The last few weeks have been crazy, I’d put together quite a streak. But hopefully the team and I can keep going forward,” the American said.

“Unfortunately, too good from Aryna today. She was playing at a really high level, and it didn’t seem to come down. 

“I had some chances at the end, but wasn’t able to do it. But I’m really proud of myself for the last couple weeks for the level I’ve been able to display, playing a lot of matches.

“I’ve proved to myself that I can win a lot of matches in a row and be able to handle a lot of different challenges.”

The final was the first at Cincinnati between two top-10 opponents since Garbine Muguruza defeated Simona Halep here in 2017. 

Sabalenka wasted no time in establishing superiority with her break of Pegula for 3-1 in the first set, a margin which she kept throughout the 30-minute opener. 

The third seed began the second set with an immediate break of Pegula and served up four games to love. 

But the seed was undone while serving for victory leading 5-4. Sabalenka was broken for the first time in the match as her sixth-seeded opponent made a late stand. 

But Sabalenka broke straight back for a 6-5 lead and polished off the win on her first match point.

Aryna Sabalenka squandered nine match points but defeated world number one Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday, breaking through to her first final at the WTA and ATP Cincinnati Open. Four-time Cincinnati semi-finalist Sabalenka will rise to second in the WTA rankings with a week to go before the start of the US Open. “I finally broke the barrier,” Sabalenka said of her place in the final. “It was such a tough battle with Iga, and we also had to be patient with the weather.”

Raindrops required the court lines to be dried by towels during several short interruptions.

Sabalenka will play Monday’s final against US sixth seed Jessica Pegula, a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 winner over Spain’s Paula Badosa.

Pegula, who won last week’s Toronto title, is the third American in the Open Era to reach the Canadian and Cincinnati finals in the same year after Rosie Casals (1970) and Serena Williams (2013).

Sabalenka had a battle on her hands to close out her win, with Swiatek putting up a huge battle in the closing stages.

Third-ranked Sabalenka led 5-1 in the second set but Swiatek showed why she is ranked atop the WTA table as she repeatedly saved match-winners from her opponent.

Sabalenka was broken for 5-3 but finally claimed the hard-fought victory a game later with a concluding break of Swiatek on a return winner on her 10th match point after nearly two hours.

“That was a brilliant performance from me. I’m really happy with the win, especially against Iga,” said Sabalenka.

“We always have tough battles and get this win in straight sets… that’s kind of like achievement for me.”

Pegula and Badosa were hit by a rain delay of well over an hour midway through the second set with Badosa leading 4-3 and trailing a set.

They resumed with the Spaniard forcing a third set before Pegula broke for 5-3 in the third and served out victory a game later.

“We had tough conditions, but I was able to not get frustrated with the rain delay,” Pegula said. “I felt I was playing and competing well.

“Paula was hitting so hard, I didn’t know what to do sometimes. I had to remind myself to be aggressive and serve well. I knew it would be hard to break her.

“But I played a couple of good points and was able to serve it out.”

Pegula said she expects to give Sabalenka “some trouble” in the final.

“It will be a good test to go up against her,” Pegula said. “I’ll do my best. It has been a long couple of weeks.”

Swiatek ‘wasn’t good’

Sabalenka’s victory served as revenge after losing to Swiatek in Masters-level clay finals at Madrid and Rome last spring.

“Aryna was just playing better today and using her advantages,” Swiatek said. “I didn’t serve well at the beginning, which threw me off my rhythm. For sure, it wasn’t a good performance for me.”

Swiatek she played overall better than she expected, adding, “I’m happy with the result anyway. I’m already kind of focusing on what I need to do to feel even better in New York. And we’ll work on stuff for sure.”

Jannik Sinner overcame a mid-match wobble to see off the challenge of Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann in his Wimbledon opener on Monday but said he would have to raise his game. The Italian world number won 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in just under three hours on No. 1 Court to set up a match against 2021 Wimbledon finalist and compatriot Matteo Berrettini. “He played really well, he was serving well, I missed a couple of shots,” said Sinner. “First-round matches are never easy and in the next round I have to raise my level.

“I have a day off and then I need to get my rhythm.”

Sinner appeared on course for a straightforward victory against his 110th-ranked opponent after taking the first two sets.

But Hanfmann raced into a 4-0 lead in the third set, sealing it 6-3 before the roof was closed on the court.

Sinner, who won his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open earlier this year, regrouped, outbattling his opponent to break in the fourth game of the fourth set.

The 22-year-old, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year, punched a backhand past his opponent on his second match point to claim victory.

He hit a total of 47 winners against 30 unforced errors.

Sinner was asked during his on-court interview what it was like to play the tournament as the newly installed world number one.

“First of all it’s a huge privilege and honour to be in that position, and there’s no better place to play as a world number one,” he said.

“It’s an amazing feeling but every match starts with 0-0 and every opponent wants to win, as I do. All matches are a very high level, which all of you want to see.”

‘Heartbroken’

Two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Sabalenka, ranked third in the world, is one of eight players to have pulled out since the draw was made.

She had admitted she was not 100 percent fit after suffering a shoulder injury at the Berlin Open.

“Heartbroken to have to tell you all that I won’t be able to play the Championships this year,” wrote 26-year-old Sabalenka on X.

China’s world number eight Zheng Qinwen, the Australian Open runner-up, was the biggest casualty of the day, losing in the first round for a second successive year.

Zheng went down 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun, who celebrated her first Grand Slam match win.

Both Sabalenka and Zheng were potential semi-final opponents for US Open champion and second-ranked Coco Gauff, who eased past compatriot Caroline Dolehide 6-1, 6-2.

Former world number one Naomi Osaka claimed her first win at Wimbledon since 2018 when she recovered from a break down in the final set to defeat Diane Parry of France 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.

Four-time Grand Slam title winner Osaka fired 34 winners in the tie, which was decided when Parry served up her 10th double fault.

Victory was extra special for Osaka as it comes a day before her daughter Shai celebrates her first birthday.

“It feels like a dream because I haven’t played here many times,” said Osaka, whose last appearance at the All England Club was in 2019, when she exited in the first round.

Russian men’s fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, a semi-finalist last year, hit 16 aces in his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Aleksandar Kovacevic of the United States.

The dark “intense, crazy” days when the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova bitterly and publicly aired their grievances are long gone, says Aryna Sabalenka. To illustrate her point, world number two Sabalenka will happily take on best friend Paula Badosa for a place in the last 32 of the French Open on Saturday. It will be the pair’s seventh meeting but first at a Grand Slam. “It’s always tough to play your best friend on tour,” said Australian Open champion Sabalenka.

“But we know how to separate court and life. So it’s always a great battle. I always enjoy playing against her.”

She added: “I would say that right now the top 10 players are all good with each other, and there are no big fights outside of the court. 

“It’s not like we are best friends, but it’s not something crazy, like intense.”

Ten years or so ago, such warmth was rare.

Back in 2013, Williams hit out at a top five player she described as “boring”.

“She’s not going to be invited to the cool parties. And, hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it.”

Williams didn’t name Sharapova but the Russian, as well as most other observers, viewed it as a reference to her relationship with Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov.

Sharapova hit back at Williams and her relationship with her French coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

Elsewhere, the American once arrived at a press conference wearing a shirt that said “Are you looking at my titles?”

That was a reference to being ranked number two after winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon while Dinara Safina was at number one despite never claiming a major.

At the 2012 Australian Open, meanwhile, Polish player Agnieszka Radwanska criticised Sharapova’s infamous grunting on court.

“Isn’t she back in Poland already?” came the icy retort from Sharapova after Radwanska’s exit.

There will be no similar trash talking ahead of Sabalenka’s clash with Badosa.

“She has a big personality, she’s a good girl, always bringing good energy, even on court,” said Spanish star Badosa.

“I think it’s going to be fun. Of course sharing the court with her after all these results she’s doing and all this is a pleasure for me.”

Should Badosa lose for a fifth successive time against Sabalenka, she’ll find support from boyfriend and world number nine Stefanos Tsitsipas, a former runner-up at the French Open.

“I’m really grateful to have someone like him by my side. Also in the next few days, we’re going to play mixed doubles, so also sharing the court with him, I think it makes it even more special.”