Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula had a fierce match that lasted 1 hour and 54 minutes and the victory belonged to the Russian player after 2 sets.

Pegula had an early break in the third game (2-1), however, the home player soon fell into disarray due to her opponent’s powerful shots, allowing Sabalenka to take a 5-2 lead after a series of 4 consecutive wins. Leaning on the victory, unfortunately Sabalenka failed to take advantage of the opportunity when her opponent demanded a break in game 9 (4-5).

In game 12, Sabalenka continuously had set-points. After failing in the first 4 set-points, the Russian player succeeded in the 5th time, securing a 7-5 victory.

The second set scenario was the reverse of the first set, Sabalenka had an early break, leading 3-0. However, she then lost 5 consecutive games, Pegula led 5-3. The American player was unsuccessful in game 10 when her opponent broke, equalizing the score 5-5 and then Sabalenka continued to break in game 12 to win 7-5.

In the final, it was clear that both players were not at their best. The most impressive thing about Sabalenka was her strength as she had 40 winners, more than double her opponent’s (17), however the Russian also made more mistakes (34-20).

Sabalenka played tough from the start. Speaking after the match, she said: “I knew I had to do that. It was the only way that worked for me. Not long ago, every time I stopped and the ball was flying in the stands, I decided that in those important moments I had to play harder. If I swing my arm all the way and don’t stop, I know the ball will stay in the court, so that was the only option for me.”

The Grand Slam season is over, but for the second year in a row, the WTA No. 1 ranking is up in the air. Iga Swiatek leads the way with 8,285 points, with Sabalenka second with 7,876. Over the next two months, the Asian circuit will feature four WTA Tour 500 tournaments and two Tour 1000 events in Beijing and Wuhan. A total of 4,000 points are up for grabs.

“To be honest, I don’t focus on the ranking. I just try to focus on myself and I know that if in every tournament I can play at my best, can bring this fighting spirit to every match then I can become world number one again,” Sabalenka added.

With the US Open title, Sabalenka has won her second Grand Slam title this year, having won the Australian Open earlier this year. This is also the third Grand Slam title in the Russian player’s career (1 US Open, 2 Australian Opens).