by The US Open women’s singles tournament is officially down to two players: the world number 2 and an American playing in her first career Grand Slam final.
No. 6 Jessica Pegula beat Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday to reach her first major final at age 30. Although she has won six WTA tournaments, she has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam.
The final is scheduled for Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Jessica Pegula stuns Karolina Muchova in 3-set comeback
In Muchova, Pegula faced a former top-10 player who had lost most of her points after missing nine months of the previous year.
Muchova started the match playing as if she had never left the court. She blitzed both of Pegula’s serves and won at the net and baseline, easily winning the first set and breaking in the second. Pegula’s body language made it clear she was in trouble.
“I was about to burst into tears because she made me look like a rookie. It was embarrassing,” Pegula said after the match.
Pegula responded by being more aggressive on Muchova’s second serve, while improving her service game. She was also helped by 19 unforced errors from Muchova in the second set, which invited her to level the match.
The momentum held until the third set, with Pegula breaking Muchova early and holding serve from there to secure the biggest win of her career, with the biggest match of her career still pending.
Aryna Sabalenka defeats Emma Navarro
In their third meeting of the year, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka defeated No. 13 Emma Navarro, another American playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, in three sets, 6-3, 7-6 (2).
Despite the support of the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, who were rooting for the underdog, Navarro was unable to respond to Sabalenka’s powerful serve (with seven aces) and her forehand. Her speed allowed her to stay in the match thanks to a solid defense. But Navarro often had to play defense because she was unable to regain the upper hand on her second serve.
Just when it looked like Navarro might fend off Sabalenka’s attack, the No. 2 seed surprised with drop shots. Showing touch closer to the net while Navarro played back to catch Sabalenka’s power was too difficult a combination to cover. Trying to surprise Navarro sometimes led to unforced errors.
However, Sabalenka’s tendency to rely on her power sometimes led her to watch her serves and returns rather than move. Navarro took advantage of this, showing speed all over the court and occasionally wrong-footing Sabalenka to win points.
In the second set, Sabalenka earned a break point with her powerful forehand, despite Navarro’s efforts to keep up with her. In trying to keep her balance while moving quickly from side to side, Navarro ended up slipping and scraping her right knee. While it didn’t bother her physically, it was an indication of how Sabalenka was roughing her up.
Ultimately, Navarro was unable to slow Sabalenka’s pace and take control of the match. Navarro came back to 4-3, 5-4 in the second set, again winning quickly against Sabalenka’s power.
The second set turned into a battle of agility and power, with Navarro keeping Sabalenka at bay and frustrating her. Navarro’s speed along the baseline allowed her to reach and push away shots that Sabalenka thought were out of reach.
Despite incredible resistance, Navarro had to play catch-up throughout the match, and Sabalenka eventually recovered. She won 8 of 10 points and recovered from her frustration at not being able to put Navarro down.
Sabalenka reaches her second consecutive US Open final.
Here’s how it all went down at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during the 2024 US Open.
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Pegula wins 1-6, 6-4, 6-2!
The No. 6 seed came from a set and a break down to reach her first Grand Slam final. She will face No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday.
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Pegula leads 5-2
After Muchova’s racquet stroke, Pegula won the next two points to hold her serve and move within a game of victory. She played more conservatively in this set, letting Muchova try to score winners and the errors that go with them.
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Muchova is visibly frustrated
Muchova tries to get back to level, but another missed break point frustrates her so much that she throws her racket in the air at the end of the point. Luckily, she catches it too.
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Pegula holds serve and leads 4-1
At 30, Pegula is two matches away from her first career Grand Slam final.
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Pegula gets the break and leads 2-0 in the third
We’ve gone backwards. Pegula takes a significant lead in the third set and Muchova is now screaming at her box. Now it’s up to Muchova to make an adjustment.
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Pegula wins the second set
After losing a set and a break, Pegula came back and sent the match into the third set. She looked much better in this set, especially after the first two games, but was also helped by Muchova’s 19 unforced errors in this set. She still didn’t win her first serve enough, taking 13 of the 24 points in this set, but she managed to punish Muchova’s second serve (12 points won out of 15).
This will be Pegula’s first three-set match of the tournament.
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Muchova counterattacks and loses 4-3
This second set was eventful, with Muchova preventing Pegula from consolidating the break. She also seems to want to get a little closer on her side, so she might have something to do.
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Pegula takes 4-2 lead
It was a big match. After four deuces, Pegula gets her second break and is now on track to level this match. She looked completely defeated just a few games ago, but now she’s giving it her all and screaming. It would be a hell of a comeback.
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Pegula breaks, tie 2-2
In the end, Muchova didn’t have her best performance, but Pegula is back in this match.
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Pegula scores, now down 2-1
All she did was hold her serve, but even that seems important to Pegula at this point. She had to avoid a break point in the process. Striking statistic: She has won 10 of her first 22 service points so far. Muchova, meanwhile, has won 15 of her first 19 points. If Pegula can’t figure out how to turn both in her favor, it’s pretty much over.
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Pegula gets broken to open the second
Muchova now has the upper hand. She has won all eight points at the net and continues to show a clear advantage in baseline rallies. Pegula’s body language is not encouraging and she will need a radical change.
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Arthur Ashe Stadium tries to revive Pegula
The New York crowd did their best to support the only American left in the women’s field, cheering her warmly for her first point won in the second set.
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Muchova wins first set 6-1
It was easy, at least after the break points. Muchova was all over the court, feasted on Pegula’s first and second serves and fired 11 winners to Pegula’s three to take the first set convincingly. If Pegula doesn’t get back on track, we’re looking at a match that will last less than an hour.
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Muchova then gets the break and leads 3-1
The Czech veteran has looked in good form so far, or at least in better form than Pegula, who committed three unforced errors and virtually let slip a game she needed to win.
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Karolina Muchova survives first big play of the match to lead 2-1
Tied at 1-1, Muchova held off three break points to hold serve in a marathon game. There were some great moments in this match.
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Muchova wins the first game without much difficulty
Two unforced errors from Pegula, let’s see how she reacts.
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Muchova and Pegula now take to the field
Two players who have struggled with injuries for most of the year are now playing in their first US Open finals. Pegula is a -155 favorite at BetMGM.
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Sabalenka wins 6-3, 7-6 (2)
Emma Navarro put up an incredible fight to force the second set into a tiebreak. But from there, Aryna Sabalenka put up a wall, winning 8 of 10 points and recovering from her frustration at not being able to put Navarro down.
Navarro had to play catch-up throughout the match and was eventually caught. Sabalenka advances to her second consecutive US Open final.
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Sabalenka straightens up
While Sabalenka seemed to have lost control of the set, she recovered with a lightning return that Navarro could not reach despite his best efforts. She needed it.
We’re at a tie-break 6-6. Agility versus power.
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Sabalenka frustrated
Sabalenka’s inability to put Navarro away is frustrating. As a result, she becomes sloppy and sends balls into the net.
For now, Sabalenka doesn’t seem to have an answer and is looking to her coaches for help. Meanwhile, Navarro is gaining momentum and the crowd is giving her energy as she takes a 6-5 advantage.
