New York | Pegula books first Grand Slam final, against Sabalenka

Jessica Pegula booked her place in US Open final after a thrilling come-back win over Karolina Muchova, 1-6 6-4 6-2, on Thursday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

I think the crowd really helped me get some adrenaline into me. I think, just that game, really holding that game, I was able to just find some adrenaline and get my legs under me. Just [tried] and chase down every single ball that I could. After that, once I had some rhythm, and started feeling more comfortable, I was able to, maybe, play a little bit more aggressive, try and come in a little bit more, attack the serve, dictate with my forehand a little bit, and, kind of, find my game after that.” Jessica Pegula

“It’s a childhood dream,” Pegula said. “It’s what I wanted when I was a kid. It’s a lot of work, a lot of hard work put in. You couldn’t even imagine how much goes into it.

“So, to be able to overcome all those challenges, and say that I get a chance at the title Saturday is what we play for as players, let alone being able to do that in my home country here, in my home Slam. It’s perfect, really.”

The 30-year-old from nearby Buffalo trailed 6-1, 2-0 before storming back to notch her 15th win in her last 16 matches.

Pegula is the oldest American woman in the Open Era to make a maiden Grand Slam final, and the third American woman aged 30 or over to make a US Open final, joining Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova.

Seeded 6th, she looked to be heading out when Muchova won 7 games in a row to lead by a set and a break in their semi-final, but she rallied in superb style to claim the win, keeping home hopes alive of a second successive American winner in New York after Coco Gauff, her former doubles partner, lifted the trophy here last year.

“It comes down to really small moments that flip momentum, I came out really flat, she was playing unbelievable, she made me look like a beginner,” Pegula said. “I wanted to burst into tears, it was embarrassing. She was destroying me.

“I was able to find a way, get some adrenalin and find my legs, and then I started to play how I wanted to play. It took a while, but, I don’t know how, I turned that around.”

After an injury-addled start to her season, which forced her out of 4 WTA 1000 tournaments and the French Open, Pegula went into the summer hard court season ranked 20 on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals and can leave New York as high as No 3 on the Leaderboard.

She has surged through the hard-court summer, capturing her 3rd WTA 1000 title in Toronto, finishing runner-up in Cincinnati, and booking a place in the US Open final.

Pegula came into her first major semi-final after toppling World No 1 Iga Swiatek to snap her 0-6 drought in Grand Slam quarter-finals.

“I feel, like, before the [quarter-final] match with Iga [Swiatek], I was way more nervous, and today I was just, like, whatever,” Pegula continued. “Maybe that was bad, because I clearly came out super flat.

“I was trying to think that maybe it was good that I felt really loose, but clearly I was a little too loose. I don’t really know what happened. Every day, you feel different. Some days you come out you feel great; some days you come out and you are super flat.

“You just have to deal with it. It’s how you adapt to that situation, and, I think, obviously, I was able to adapt just in the nick of time tonight.”

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Facing Muchova for the first time just 3 weeks ago in Cincinnati, Pegula had won in 3 sets, but it was the Czech who was the quicker out of the blocks on Thursday night in New York.

After exchanging holds to open the match, Pegula earned 3 break points as Muchova served at 1-1, but the unseeded Czech dug in to save them all, and, from there, took charge, employing her all-court game to glorious effect, coming forward, hitting slices, serving and volleying to flummox the American.

Holding for 2-1, Muchova won 8 points in a row to break, and extended her lead to 4-1.

She unleashed her attacking all-court game to keep Pegula off-balance and demoralised the World No 6 with spectacular shot-making to race away with the set after just 28 minutes, winning 16 of the last 20 points of the frame, including all 7 when she came forward.

Muchova extended her lead to 2-0 in the second, before Pegula stormed back, saving a break point to hold for 2-1, and then broke for the first time with a dipping return that the charging Czech could not handle.

“I was just super flat, and she’s really tough to play when you’re flat,” Pegula said. “She’s tricky, she doesn’t give you a lot of rhythm, and then, obviously, at the end of the first, she was playing some extremely high level, so I just had no rhythm.

“I think just that [2-1] game, really holding that game, I was able to just find some adrenaline, and get my legs under me.”

The American continued to stay aggressive, and she earned 4 break chances with Muchova serving at 2-3.

Again, the 2023 French Open finalist displayed her astonishing shot-making prowess, exploiting the geometry of the court to great effect to save the first few, but she could not save the 4th.

Jessica Pegula found her way past Karolina Muchova after a sluggish start, and will meet Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s final

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Pegula let out a huge roar and the New York crowd erupted on behalf of the home favourite, but as well as the American had played in her come-back, it was also the result of a collapse by Muchova, who was playing just a 6th tournament since 9 months out following wrist surgery, in that key point at 0-2, where she missed a routine volley at break point to go 3-0 up.

It went long, and Pegula went on to win 12 of the next 16 games as Muchova, who had to leave the court 4 times during Wednesday’s quarter-final due to a stomach bug, ran out of steam.

“[That] seemed, like, that was a big momentum swing,” Pegula said afterwards. “I was able to just hold on to my serve there, and find a way. I think the crowd really helped me get some adrenaline into me.

“I think, just that game, really holding that game, I was able to just find some adrenaline and get my legs under me. Just [tried] and chase down every single ball that I could.

“After that, once I had some rhythm, and started feeling more comfortable, I was able to, maybe, play a little bit more aggressive, try and come in a little bit more, attack the serve, dictate with my forehand a little bit, and, kind of, find my game after that.”

Gaining in confidence, the American took early leads in Muchova’s next 2 service games, and then earned set points at 4-5, converting when the Czech double-faulted.

Muchova headed off court to regroup, but the decider began with Pegula immediately breaking after cracking some deep returns.

The Czech challenged the American on almost every subsequent service game, erasing 40-0 deficits as the first-set version of herself occasionally reappeared, and at 4-2, Muchova earned her best shot to level the score during a protracted game with multiple deuces, but she dumped a slice into the net.

Pegula jumped to a 5-2 lead, then broke in the very next game to reach her first-ever Grand Slam final.

When the dust settles, Muchova will be proud of her effort, having not played from her semi-final defeat at Flushing Meadows last year until a Wimbledon warm-up event in June.

“It’s a lot of positives,” she told reporters. “I mean, I just lost a half hour ago, I’m a little bit… of course, now I’m not thinking that much about positives.

“But for sure to even get to the semis and to feel that my game is there, that I can compete against the best, I can win against them, it’s something that I didn’t know when it will come back to me, and I feel I’m playing at a good level.

“I’m healthy and I can play more tournaments this year. That’s actually the most important thing.”

Karolina Muchova used her all-court game to keep Jessica Pegula off-balance but the World No 6 found a way to win as the Czech ran out of steam

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Pegula didn’t crack the world’s Top 100 until 2019, just days before her 25th birthday, and a full decade into her playing career.

She underwent 2 surgeries that saw her ranking plummet to as low as No 775, and when she did reach the upper echelons of the sport, she came up short in her first 6 major singles quarter-finals.

Now, at 30 years old, she will contest her first Grand Slam singles final, having not dropped a set on the way.

Pegula and her opponent in the final, World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka, just met in the Cincinnati final a little over 2 weeks ago when the 2-time Australian Open champion claimed the win, 6-3 7-5.

Overall Sabalenka has claimed 5 of their 7 matches, although one of Pegula’s 2 wins have come at Flushing Meadows, when the Cincinnati tournament was held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“Playing Aryna is going to be really tough,” Pegula said. “She showed how tough she is [in the first semi] and why she’s probably the favourite to win this tournament.

“It’ll be a rematch of Cincinnati, so, hopefully, I can get some revenge out here. It’s, kind of, crazy that we’re playing each other again in the finals, but I think it just shows how much great hard court tennis we’ve been playing.

“She’s going to be tough to beat, but that’s what the finals are for, so I’m ready.

“I’m just happy to be in a final, but, obviously, I come here to want to win the title,” Pegula continued. “If you would have told me at the beginning of the year I’d be in the finals of the US Open, I would have laughed so hard, because that just was where my head was, was not thinking that I would be here.”

A triumphant Jessica Pegula celebrates reaching her first major final

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