“It’s amazing. It’s a childhood dream. It’s a lot of hard work put in. You couldn’t even imagine how much goes into it,” stated Pegula. “If you would have told me at the beginning of the year I’d be in the finals of the US Open, I would have laughed so hard, because that just was where my head was, was not thinking that I would be here.”
Defying recent injuries and lingering doubts, Pegula could clinch the “perfect” fairytale ending on home soil.
Aryna Sabalenka is at, or very, very close to the peak of her powers. The two-time Australian Open champion fell just short in the final last September to Coco Gauff and she still hasn’t let that loss go. The 26-year-old insists she’s learned hard lessons from dealing with an ardent home crowd, which will certainly be the case in battle with another home hope on Saturday night.
“Last year it was very tough experience, very tough lesson. Today in the match (vs Navarro), I was, like, ‘No, no, no, Aryna, it’s not going to happen again. You have to control your emotions. You have to focus on yourself.’ There is your team in the box. There is your family. Just focus on yourself and just fight for it.”
Pegula has won 15 of her past 16 matches. That sole defeat came to Sabalenka, who is on an 11-match winning streak. Something has to give.
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