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.

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.”

Novak Djokovic came through a testing Wimbledon workout to stay on course for a record-equalling eighth men’s title on Thursday as Andy Murray prepared to launch his emotional farewell. Jessica Pegula became the highest-ranked player to exit the tournament so far, dumped out by China’s Wang Xinyu in the second round but women’s top seed Iga Swiatek cruised through. Seven-time champion Djokovic did not have it all his own way against British wild card Jacob Fearnley but came through 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 in a match lasting three hours. It appeared to be business as usual for the Serbian as he coasted into a two-set lead on Centre Court but the 277th-ranked Fearnley broke his illustrious opponent twice in the third set to reduce the deficit.

Fearnley, playing in his first Grand Slam, carved out two break points in the sixth game of the fourth set but missed his chance and Djokovic broke in the 11th game before serving out for the win.

“I didn’t have a chance to see him play,” said Djokovic, 37. “Actually two days ago, I saw him for the first time

“Obviously there’s always an element of surprise and with him having nothing to lose.”

“Most of the British players grow up being exposed to grass courts, quick surfaces, so they know exactly how to play. It’s a very windy day, very challenging conditions and I thought he served very well.”

Djokovic, who is playing with protection after a recent knee operation, is seeking to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon men’s titles and is aiming for a record 25th Grand Slam title.

Fifth-ranked Pegula went down 6-4, 6-7 (7/9), 6-1 to China’s Wang Xinyu, who celebrated her first win against a top-10 player.

The American battled back after losing the first set, saving a match point in the second-set tie-break, before levelling the match.

But China’s 42nd-ranked Wang raced into a 5-0 lead in the decider and sealed the deal.

Wang, 22, said: “Couple of days ago I was asking my coach, ‘When will this happen?’

“Jessica was really tough to play on grass. Her ball was super low and I’m just really happy I won in the end.”

Wang will face Harriet Dart, who defeated Nottingham champion Katie Boulter in an all-British clash for a spot in the last 16.

World number one Swiatek progressed smoothly into the third round at the expense of Croatia’s Petra Martic, racking up a 21st straight win.

A single break in each set was enough to give the 23-year-old, who has never been past the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

All eyes will be on Centre Court in the evening when Murray launches his Wimbledon farewell alongside his brother Jamie in the men’s doubles.

Murray, the champion in 2013 and 2016, was desperate for one last crack at the singles but ran out of time after recent surgery to remove a spinal cyst.

The British former world number one still has a chance to wave goodbye to his adoring fans in both the men’s doubles and mixed doubles as he treads the turf for a final time, 19 years after his Wimbledon debut.

“I’m hoping maybe for a bit of closure. I just want the opportunity to play one more time out there, hopefully on Centre Court, and feel that buzz,” the 37-year-old said before the tournament started.

Murray is a three-time Grand Slam singles champion but has form in the doubles — teaming up with Jamie to help Britain win the 2015 Davis Cup.

The Murrays will face Australian pair Rinky Hijikata and John Peers on Thursday, with the decibel count expected to soar.

Andy Murray is also scheduled to play mixed doubles with British compatriot and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu.

Elsewhere on day four of Wimbledon, two-time finalist Ons Jabeur beat US qualifier Robin Montgomery in straight sets while Elena Rybakina, the 2022 women’s champion, finished strongly to beat Germany’s Laura Siegemund 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

On the men’s side, 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov came back from two sets down to beat China’s Shang Juncheng while Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka exited at the hands of Gael Monfils.

Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, seen as an outside tip for the title, was forced to quit his second-round match against Arthur Fils with a knee injury.

French Open runner-up Alexander Zverev, the Wimbledon fourth seed, is last on the list on Court One.

Jessica Pegula in action against Madison Keys at the US Open.© AFP