Aryna Sabalenka Reaches Third Consecutive US Open Final, A Feat Last Achieved by Serena Williams

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka survived an early scare to punch her ticket to the final of the US Open after beating Jessica Pegula, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, in the semifinals at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday.

Sabalenka kept her poise after dropping the opening set and showed everyone why she is the world No. 1. She had 11 aces in the second set and capitalized on the nine errors of Pegula.

She is now awaiting the winner of the other semifinals between Naomi Osaka and Amanda Anisimova.

With the impressive win over Pegula, the 27-year-old Sabalenka became the first woman to advance to three straight finals in the US Open since Serena Williams in 2014.

The pride of Belarus is looking for her fourth Grand Slam title. If she defends the throne at Flushing Meadows, she will become only the seventh player in the Open Era to capture back-to-back titles, joining Williams, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, and Kim Clijsters.

Despite inching closer to another major title, Sabalenka stayed modest.

“I had to work really hard to get this win. Hopefully I can go all the way again,” said Sabalenka after the match, as reported by Tennis Now’s Richard Pagliaro.

“I was just praying inside and hoping for the best. It means a lot. I’ll go out there on Saturday and I’ll fight for every point like the last point of my life.”

The 31-year-old Pegula, meanwhile, didn’t offer excuses for her bitter defeat. She praised Sabalenka, who will be playing in her sixth Grand Slam final, for displaying her grit in the contest that lasted for over two hours.

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“She’s going to come out, and I was hitting some good returns, and she’s going to blast first-ball winners, literally some of them on the line, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about that,” said the world No. 4.

“It’s too good. That’s how she plays. She plays really fearless.”

The final will be held on Saturday.