Belarus’ world No. 2 player Sabalenka defeated American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 to win the US Open for the first time.
After winning the Australian Open in January for the second year in a row, Sabalenka has now won three grand slam singles titles in her career. Since Angelique Kerber in 2016, she is the first woman to win a grand slam on a hard court. Furthermore, Sabalenka qualified for the US Open final this year for the second consecutive year.
With her victory, the athlete declared: “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.”
In a social media post, Sabalenka further said: “Still speechless. A moment I will never forget, a feeling that is so hard to put into words… Thank you to everyone who cheered me on, who believed in me and encouraged me to keep fighting.”
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Highlights of the match
After Sabalenka took a 3-0 lead in the first set, Pegula won the next five games, which gave the American a 5-3 lead in the second set.
Nevertheless, Sabalenka would not allow Pegula to force a third set as she won the next four games to end the match.
Having a competitive season, Pegula admitted: “It’s been an incredible month for me, really… I had a rough start to the year but was really able to turn it around. To be able to be standing here in my first grand slam final, and then coming off such a hot summer, I didn’t expect it. I’m just really grateful for the last few weeks of tennis and some incredible matches I’ve been able to put together.”
Sabalenka and her success
Sabalenka considered her personal meaning of success. She remarked: “Well, it’s always been my goal to put our family name in the history of tennis after I lost my father.”
She added: “Every time I see my name on that trophy, I’m so proud of myself, I’m proud of my family that they never gave up on my dream and that they were doing everything they could to keep me going.”
Source: CNN