U.S. Open: American Jessica Pegula seeks first Grand Slam vs. Aryna Sabalenka

Sept. 6 (UPI) -- American Jessica Pegula ended her 0 for 6 Grand Slam quarterfinal drought with a trip to the 2024 U.S. Open singles finale. Now, she will need to beat No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka to earn her first major tennis crown.

"If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that I'd be in the final of the U.S. Open, I would have laughed so hard," Pegula told reporters Thursday after her three-set semifinal victory over No. 52 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.

Pegula, ranked No. 6, will take on Sabalenka at 4 p.m. EDT Saturday in Flushing, N.Y. She owns a 2-5 career record against the Belarusian, including a straight-sets loss in the Aug. 19 Cincinnati Open final.

"Obviously she is a really great hard court player, if not one of the best in the world, but I think I'm also a really good hardcourt player," Pegula said of Sabalenka.

"In Cincinnati she served unbelievable and I felt like I still had chances in that match. Hopefully she doesn't serve that well on Saturday, a little bit less will be nice, but I think I know that I have a game that can possibly frustrate her."

Pegula said she needs to keep Sabalenka on the move, while putting pressure on her serve. She also said she needs to make in-match adjustments and be strategic about when to deploy aggressive shots.

Pegula won each of her first five matches in Flushing in straight sets to climb into her first career Grand Slam singles semifinal.

She broke Muchova's serve five times and logged 22 unforced errors in her 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory Thursday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Muchova converted 4 of 11 break point chances and totaled 40 unforced errors in the 2-hour, 12-minute match.

Sabalenka, a two-time Grand Slam champion, is seeking redemption from her loss to American Coco Gauff in the 2023 U.S. Open final. She needed just 90 minutes to dispatch American Emma Navarro (No. 13) in straight sets in Thursday's other women's singles semifinal.

"It's amazing," Pegula said of her run to the final. "It's a childhood dream. It's what I wanted when I was a kid. It's a lot of work, a lot of hard work put in. You couldn't even imagine how much goes into it. It would mean the world to me, obviously. I'm just happy to be in a final, but obviously I came here to want to win the title."

Pegula cited an increased fitness level for better movement and an ability to stay healthy as the reasons she is playing with more confidence. She plans to get in a practice session for the final Friday afternoon.

"We had a lot of great battles in the past, really difficult tight matches," Sabalenka said of Pegula. "She is playing really incredible tennis. We played recently in Cincinnati and it was a really tough match, even though I closed the match in two sets, but still it wasn't that easy.

"She is playing her best tennis, I would say. It feels like she is back on track. She won a tournament [at the Canadian Open], made the final and then she is here. ... It's going to be another great battle against her."

The 2024 U.S. Open will mark the first time since 2002 that an American will play in the respective women's and men's singles finals.

No. 12 Taylor Fritz will face No. 20 Frances Tiafoe (No. 20) in a men's semifinal Friday in Flushing. The winning American will meet No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy or No. 25 Jack Draper of the United Kingdom in the men's singles final Sunday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Draper and Sinner are set to face off some time after 3 p.m. Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Fritz and Tiafoe will play their semifinal match at 7 p.m. on the same court.