American Jessica Pegula to challenge Aryna Sabalenka for her first Grand Slam final

The 2024 US Open women’s tennis final will pit American Jessica Pegula, world number 6, against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, number 2 in the WTA rankings, after their respective victories on Thursday, September 5, over Karolina Muchova and Emma Navarro.

Jessica Pegula, 30, who will be playing her first Grand Slam final in front of her home crowd, will be an outsider against the player who has already won two major tournaments. Winner of the Australian Open in 2023 and at the start of this year, Aryna Sabalenka will have the opportunity on Saturday to become the first player to win both Majors played on hard surfaces in the same season since Germany’s Angelique Kerber in 2016.

After the elimination in the quarter-finals of world number 1 Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka was the only player in the semi-finals with experience of a Grand Slam title, and she showed it against the American Emma Navarro, a novice at this level of competition, for a 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory.

The 26-year-old dominated her opponent, 12^e world champion by breaking her in particular in her first engagement in the first set. Emma Navarro, 23, took the Belarusian’s serve in stride before suffering her powerful and deep shots. With a new break gained at 4-2, Aryna Sabalenka was able to conclude the first set serenely.

Leading 5-3 in the second set, the Belarusian saw Emma Navarro suddenly raise her level, more aggressive on the return and finding awkward angles. The American, one of the revelations of the season with an eighth-final at Roland-Garros and a quarter-final at Wimbledon, who will enter the Top 10 on Monday (8^e), thus pushed her opponent to a tie-break. Aryna Sabalenka was first guilty of a double fault (0-2), before showing a superb level, with ever stronger shots, coupled with well-felt drop shots.

“At the end of the second set, I was a little emotionally affected, it reminded me of moments from last year’s final, the encouragement from the crowd [pour son adversaire américaine] »she explained, referring to the title match she lost to Coco Gauff. “I worked hard on my state of mind during matches, I improved my calm in key moments”she further developed.

Jessica Pegula comes back from afar

Aryna Sabalenka will probably have the crowd against her again in the final, facing Jessica Pegula, who fought to get rid of the Czech Karolina Muchova (52).^e) in the other semi-final 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The 30-year-old, in her first Grand Slam semi-final, was first outclassed by Karolina Muchova, finalist at Roland-Garros in 2023, in a first set where the Czech’s varied game was exceptional. “She started by playing incredibly, she made me look like a beginner, she destroyed me”admitted Jessica Pegula at the stadium microphone.

The match turned when Karolina Muchova, who returned in June after a ten-month absence due to injury, missed a double break point at 2-0 in the second set, on a volley, she who had won all her points during her attacks to the net in the first set. Jessica Pegula then showed herself to be more and more solid at the baseline, no longer giving her opponent as much freedom, to finally turn the match around.

“I finally started to find my way and, by the end of the second set, I started to play the way I wanted to.”she explained, confirming her full form, she who has won fifteen of her last sixteen matches. Her only defeat came in the final of the Cincinnati tournament, mid-August, against… Aryna Sabalenka, who leads 5-2 in their confrontations.