US Open: Sabalenka beats Pegula for women's title

NEW YORK (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka got past Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in a rollicking U.S. Open women’s final Saturday to win her first championship at Flushing Meadows and third Grand Slam title of her career.

Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, adds this trophy to the two she earned at the Australian Open each of the past two seasons, also on hard courts. And the victory allowed her to leave Arthur Ashe Stadium in a far better mood than when she was the runner-up to Coco Gauff at the 2023 U.S. Open.

Pegula, a native New Yorker whose parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, was participating in a major final for the first time. She’s won 15 of her past 17 matches over the past month but both losses came against Sabalenka in tournament finals.

The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka appeared in full control when she reeled off five consecutive games to grab the opening set and move ahead 3-0 in the second, before the No. 6 Pegula made things more interesting. In the next game, Pegula dropped a point and showed her frustration by whacking a ball off the video wall behind the baseline, dislodging a little square panel.

Maybe that released some tension for the 30-year-old American, because suddenly Pegula asserted herself, using her own five-game run. But when she served at 5-4 with a chance to force a third set, Pegula let Sabalenka level the second with a break.

That was part of a three-game, match-ending surge for Sabalenka, who soon was collapsing to the court, dropping her racket and covering her face with both arms while lying on her back.

Sabalenka is as demonstrative as anyone in the sport, her body language usually a spot-on barometer of whether things are going well — or not — for her.

As she sputtered a tad at the start Saturday, it was tough to read what she was thinking against Pegula, who eliminated No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals.

Even while falling behind 2-0, then being a point from trailing 3-1, Sabalenka reacted to her own mistakes — or winners off Pegula’s racket — by simply turning her back to the court and breathing the picture of calm, as star athletes from other sports such as Stephen Curry, Lewis Hamilton and Noah Lyles looked on from the stands.

Once Sabalenka got going, once her booming strokes — her forehands are the fastest these past two weeks, speedier than any woman’s or man’s — were calibrated just so, it quickly became apparent the outcome would be determined by what she did.

By the close, the statistics made that obvious: Sabalenka finished with far more winners than Pegula, 40-17, and also more unforced errors, 34-22. Sabalenka controlled most exchanges, with Pegula mainly stuck responding as best she could.

There was one moment of clear anger from Sabalenka. It came at 5-all in the first set, when she double-faulted to face a break point, then leaned forward and cracked her racket against the court four times while holding the handle with both hands.

She saved that break point, wound up holding in that game, then breaking Pegula to own the opening set.

A year ago, Sabalenka blew a lead against Gauff. Didn’t let that happen again this time.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

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