NEW YORK (AP) — Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka was simply too good for Jessica Pegula yet again, winning their U.S. Open semifinal 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday night in a rematch of last year's final.
The No. 1-seeded Sabalenka moved one victory away from becoming the first woman to claim consecutive championships at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams got three in a row from 2012 to 2014.
On Saturday, Sabalenka will meet No. 8 Amanda Anisimova or No. 23 Naomi Osaka for the trophy.
This matchup was quite close, far closer than the straight-set triumph for Sabalenka over Pegula 12 months ago that gave the 27-year-old from Belarus her third Grand Slam title, all on hard courts.
Since then, Sabalenka was the runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January and to Coco Gauff at the French Open in June, then was eliminated in the Wimbledon semifinals by Anisimova in July.
When this one ended on Sabalenka's third match point — after two bad errors on her initial chances — she rocked back on her heels, spread her arms and screamed.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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