Aryna Sabalenka hails ‘great day at the office’ in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI – Aryna Sabalenka thrust herself into US Open title contention on Aug 19 with a 6-3, 7-5 triumph over Jessica Pegula to win the WTA Cincinnati Open.

The third seed, who missed Wimbledon with a shoulder injury, won a trophy for the first time since collecting her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

Sabalenka had it all her way against the American sixth seed until the closing stages, when she lost serve for the first time while leading a set and 5-4.

But she broke back and another hold of serve solved that problem and produced a first WTA 1000-level hard-court trophy since 2020 for the Belarusian.

“I really couldn’t have wished for more – it was a really great day at the office,” Sabalenka said.

“Just super happy with the level I played in the final and I was able to get this title. It’s really important going into the US Open.”

Sabalenka – beaten in the 2023 US Open final by American Coco Gauff – has now defeated Pegula, champion last week in Toronto, in five of their seven meetings.

She has moved up to second in the world in the WTA rankings and emerged as a serious contender when the US Open begins in New York on Aug 26.

“I’m sure Jess and I will have more battles in the future,” Sabalenka added. “Let’s keep it up.”

The win marked her sixth WTA 1000 title and the 15th of her career. She was a deserved winner as she fired 10 aces and broke three times in the 1hr 15min success.

Pegula had been hoping for a trophy double after winning in Toronto last week.

“The last few weeks have been crazy, I had put together quite a streak. But hopefully the team and I can keep going forward,” the American said.

“Unfortunately, too good from Aryna today. She was playing at a really high level, and it didn’t seem to come down.

“I had some chances at the end, but wasn’t able to do it. But I’m really proud of myself for the last couple weeks for the level I’ve been able to display... I’ve proved to myself that I can win a lot of matches in a row and be able to handle a lot of different challenges.”

The final was the first at Cincinnati between two top-10 opponents since Garbine Muguruza defeated Simona Halep in 2017.

Sabalenka wasted no time in establishing superiority with her break of Pegula for 3-1 in the first set, a margin which she kept throughout the 30-minute opener.

The third seed began the second set with an immediate break of Pegula and served up four games to love.

But Sabalenka was undone while serving for victory.

She was broken for the first time in the match as her sixth-seeded opponent made a late stand.

But the Belarusian broke straight back for a 6-5 lead and polished off the win on her first match point. AFP