Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula in the Cincinnati Open final to win her first championship since the Australian Open in January.
It took the athlete 76 minutes to complete a 6-3, 7-5 victory, her 15th career title overall and her sixth at the WTA 1,000 level. Unfortunately, the outcome ended Pegula’s nine-match winning streak.
With her victory, Sabalenka admitted: “This trophy means a lot, it is a really big achievement, especially coming after injury, with this fear of getting injured again.”
She added: “My team did everything they could to make sure I felt as good as I can and I am proud of myself that I was able to handle all of those emotions.”
Highlight of the match
After winning her fourth game, Sabalenka—who will now be ranked second in the world—simply dominated the opening set.
When serving for the title at 5-4 in the second set, she made a small mistake and sixth seed Pegula broke back to tie the match. However, the two-time Grand Slam champion bounced back and won the match.
The 26-year-old, who won the semifinal match over Iga Swiatek, the top-ranked player in the world, will play again at the US Open, which begins on August 26.
Source: BBC