Pegula vs Sabalenka: US Open Final Analysis
Sabalenka conquered New York with powerful point construction, net attacks and drop shots
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula in a highly-entertaining, rollercoaster final to capture her first US Open crown and third career Major.
With a 7-5 7-5 triumph, Sabalenka became the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to sweep both hardcourt Majors in the same season. As Sabalenka extended her current winning streak to 12 matches, she also earned redemption from previous New York heartbreaks.
“So many times I was so close to get a US Open title. It’s always been a dream of mine. Finally, I got this beautiful trophy.
I remember all those tough losses in the past here… I'm just super proud of myself. I'm super proud of my team as well.”
— Aryna Sabalenka
Before lifting the trophy, Sabalenka overcame a very stern challenge from Pegula.
The American entered the final with 15 wins in 16 matches, including the upset of Iga Swiatek that marked the end of Pegula’s drought at Major quarter-finals. Since the Olympics, only Sabalenka had beaten Pegula, in the Cincinnati final.
In their rematch at Arthur Ashe Stadium, a defiant Pegula fought and hung in as much as possible. To her credit, she didn’t fold after Sabalenka built big leads in each set. In fact, urged on by the home crowd, Pegula ended up with several highlights:
grabbed the first break of the match, in the 3rd game
was a break up in both sets (2-1 in set 1; 5-3 in set 2)
mounted significant comebacks in each set (from 2-5 to 5-5 in set 1; from 0-3 to 5-3 in set 2)
On top of that, Pegula was superior in 2 very intriguing metrics.
She had a 7-point advantage when both players rallied simultaneously from the back of the court and she won 5 more short points.
Baseline duels: +7 Pegula (46-39)
0-4 shot rallies won: +6 Pegula (59-53)
If the match was solely played from the baseline, Pegula would have won!
In the past, winning the battle of first-strike tennis against Sabalenka dramatically increased the odds of beating her. But this year, Sabalenka has taken a different “Tigress” to the Majors. One that combines booming strokes with stellar point construction. And when the Belarusian does it, she is virtually unstoppable.
Against Pegula, Sabalenka reversed the above mentioned deficits by continuously working her way to the net and performing flawlessly once there. The world #2 also showed great touch, disrupting baseline exchanges with frequent and highly-efficient drop shots.
By the close, these were Sabalenka’s championship-winning numbers:
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