Aryna Sabalenka gets redemption, beats Jessica Pegula in U.S. Open tennis final

Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Aryna Sabalenka sprinkled delicately hit winners between burly serves to beat American Jessica Pegula for the 2024 U.S. Open title Saturday in Flushing, N.Y.

The Belarusian struggled with errors early on, but regained her dominant form at crucial points of the 7-5, 7-5 victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Rain poured on top of the retractable roof of the facility as fans watched Pegula attempt to combat a flood of forceful forehands and serves, but her No. 2 ranked foe proved too strong to overcome.

"I'm just super proud of myself," Sabalenka, who is 18-1 in majors this year, said on the ESPN broadcast.

Sabalenka, who lost to American Coco Gauff in the 2023 U.S. Final, fired six aces, 40 winners and broke Pegula's serve six times in the 1-hour, 53-minute meeting. She also totaled 32 unforced errors and five double faults, compared to 22 and four for Pegula.

She claimed a $3.6 million prize for winning the third Grand Slam singles title of her career.

"I'm speechless right now because there were so many times I thought I was so close to the U.S. Open title," the four-time U.S. Open semifinalist said. "Finally I got this beautiful trophy. It means a lot."

Pegula, who made her first Grand Slam final appearance, totaled four aces and just 17 winners. She converted 4 of 7 break point opportunties.

"I knew it was going to be challenging and tough," Pegula said. "She is super powerful and goes for her shot. ... I was happy I was able to fight back and give myself a chance, but in the end it wasn't enough. But I'm glad I was able to stay in it and keep giving myself opportunities."

Sabalenka was aggressive from the first racket swing, repeatedly drawing Pegula off the back line and forcing awkward returns. Sabalenka and Pegula each held on their first serves.

Pegula broke Sabalenka in the third game, but the Belarusian responded by winning the next four games. She broke Pegula twice during that run, which resulted in a 5-2 advantage.

Pegula held in eighth game, converted her second break point in the ninth and held again to tie set. Sabalenka then fended off a break point to win the 11th game and broke Pegula to win set point.

Sabalenka delivered an ace to start the second set, en route to another hold. A Pegula double fault led to another Sabalenka break point in the second game. The Belarusian held in the third and appeared on track to dominate the set.

Despite her frustration, Pegula showed grit to climb back into the match, winning the next five games.

She snapped Sabalenka's five-game winning streak by holding to make the score 3-1. She then broke the Belarusian for a third time and held to tie the set. She broke Sabalenka once again in the seventh game and held in the eighth for a 5-3 lead.

Sabalenka stopped the bleeding with a hold in the ninth game and broke Pegula to tie the set 5-5. She leaned on her big serve to hold again for a 6-5 advantage.

She then won championship point when Pegula overhit a return, sending it past the baseline. Sabalenka responded by collapsing to the ground to celebrate the title.

Pegula, who earned $1.8 million for her U.S. Open run, will rise from No. 6 to No. 3 in the WTA singles rankings, replacing Coco Gauff as the top-ranked American.

"It's been an incredible month for me," Pegula said. "I had a rough start to the year, but was able to turn it around. To be able to be standing here at my first Grand Slam final, then coming off such a hot summer, I mean I didn't expect it.

"I'm just really grateful for the last few weeks of tennis and some incredible matches I've been able to put together."

No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy will face No. 12 Taylor Fritz of the United States in the men's singles final at 2 p.m. EDT Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.