Aryna Sabalenka was excellent in New York, finishing her Grand Slam season on a high note.
After defeats in the finals of the Australian Open and French Open, and in the semifinals of Wimbledon, Sabalenka had one last chance to win a major in 2025.
Not willing to let the opportunity slip through her fingers, Sabalenka defeated Amanda Anisimova to win her fourth Grand Slam title.
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The Belarusian won the championship match in straight sets 6-3, 7-6, but had a far tougher time of things during her semifinal match with home-favorite Jessica Pegula.
Reflecting on their semifinal clash, Pegula’s coach Mark Knowles claimed Sabalenka was doing something extraordinary in the deciding set.
Mark Knowles was impressed by Aryna Sabalenka’s confidence against Jessica Pegula
Appearing on the Tennis Channel, Knowles commented on the final set of the semifinal between Pegula and Sabalenka.
“It’s the cruelty of tennis, isn’t it, right?” he said.
“That third set, just one more point. She won 33 points, Aryna [Sabalenka] won 31. Jess [Pegula] was 0-4 on break points. Sabalenka 1-1. Jess dropped serve that first game, 30-40. The one look that Aryna got, she took it, and then Jess didn’t drop another point on serve for the entire set.
“I think she won 16 consecutive points on serve, all of us saw it, obviously, we were there courtside. The quality was so high.
“Both players had more winners than unforced errors, and, you know, we were having a couple of those tasty beverages afterwards, reflecting back and, you know, sometimes you have just got to hand it to your opponent, right?”
The Bahamian coach was impressed with Sabalenka’s confidence in the final set, comparing her offense to some of the sport’s greatest ever players.
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“Jess has lost some tough matches to Aryna, but it hasn’t been about not executing. We learned a lot from the final last year at the US Open, tried to execute a little differently this year, and, you know, Aryna’s one of those players,” said Knowles.
“Every big point, it seemed like, especially in that final set, she hit a first ball winner, which, as I told Jess, I’ve been around a lot of greats, [Roger] Federer’s, [Novak] Djokovic’s, Serena [Williams], I don’t recall many players going for first ball winners and playing with that level of confidence.
“You can’t complain about it, you have just got to give credit where credit is due.
“It’s tough to strategise and compete against, but on the other end, you also have to give Aryna her flowers.”
Knowles wasn’t the only one to give Sabalenka her flowers, as American tennis legend Tracy Austin was also there to watch the match.
Tracy Austin gives her verdict on Aryna Sabalenka’s third-set level vs Jessica Pegula
Austin, a two-time US Open champion, claimed Sabalenka was ‘incredible’ in the third set.
“I was in the stadium, and I was kind of right at the baseline level. Jess’s returns were this far inside the baseline, and Sabalenka would just come up with incredible shots back,” she said.
“All those break points, I felt like Sabalenka didn’t feel the pressure. So when you go back and kind of rehash a match like that, because Jess, in two different games, mid third set, had opportunities. The crowd was so for her.
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“I don’t know that, and tell me if I’m wrong. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Jess so fast. She was so quick out of the middle, seemed to get everything.
“I mean, I don’t remember her being that fast as she was out there.”
Pegula certainly showed she belonged with the very best on the WTA Tour during this year’s US Open, pushing the world number one and eventual champion all the way on Arthur Ashe.
The American has a fairly busy schedule planned for the next few months, as she looks to bounce back from her semifinal defeat at Flushing Meadows.
- Billie Jean King Cup Finals
- China Open
- Wuhan Open
- WTA Finals
Pegula would ideally like to finish her season in Saudi Arabia, at the WTA Finals, but still has some work to do before qualification is guaranteed.
Top ten in the Live WTA Race
The 31-year-old will have an opportunity to move closer to WTA Finals qualification when she returns to action in Beijing.
Pegula will compete at the China Open WTA 1000 event when the tournament begins on Monday, September 22.