Women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka advanced to her fourth straight US Open final after defeating No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 on Thursday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The first set was not a walk in the park for the two-time reigning champion.
The Belarusian star and the American traded games back and forth until the deciding game, where Sabalenka dominated Pegula’s serve to avoid a first-set tiebreak and win the opener 7-5.
Sabalenka quickly went up 4-1 in the second set before Pegula battled to take the sixth game. But frustration boiled over for Pegula after dropping the next game, which resulted in her throwing her racket to the ground.
With former first lady Michelle Obama looking on, Sabalenka clinched another title chance this weekend with a strong forehand that Pegula failed to connect with. She has now won 19 straight matches at the US Open.
