US Open: Sabalenka beats Pegula to clinch women’s singles title
No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka captured her third Grand Slam singles title, and her first in New York City, defeating American Jessica Pegula, 7-5, 7-5 to win the US Open title.
After winning the semifinal at the US Open and getting a ticket for her maiden Grand Slam final, Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu said it is a moment she had always “dreamt of”.
Andreescu, the No 15 seed, reached her maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open on Thursday night with a gritty 7-6(3), 7-5 victory over No 13 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.
Andreescu never held a break point in the first set, but won it in a tiebreak after saving all six break points against her, including one set point. The Canadian then fought back from a double-break down in the second set to reel off the last five games of the clash and claim victory after two hours and 12 minutes of play.
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It is to note that the rising star becomes the second Canadian to reach a Grand Slam final, following Eugenie Bouchard’s run to the Wimbledon final in 2014.
“I’ve always dreamt of this moment ever since I was a little kid,” Andreescu said, in her post-match press conference. “But I don’t think many people would have actually thought that it would become a reality.”
“I just kept believing in myself,” Andreescu continued. “But I think that moment after the match [point won], I was just in shock. At the same time, I fought really hard to get to this point, so I really think I deserve to be in the finals on Saturday.”
Andreescu will now take on No 8 seed and six-time US Open titlist Serena Williams in Saturday’s championship match, after Williams dispatched No 5 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in straight sets in the earlier semifinal on Thursday night.
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