Jessica Pegula couldn’t quite manage the ferocious Aryna Sabalenka as she marched to her first US Open title on Saturday.
With the 30-year-old having never reached beyond the quarter-final stage of a major in six visits, Jessica Pegula successfully broke her curse with a stunning win over world number one Iga Swiatek.
A comeback win after trailing by a set and a break saw the sixth seed trump last year’s enterprising semi-finalist Karolina Muchova, setting up a showdown with 2023 runner-up Aryna Sabalenka.
A re-match of their Cincinnati final three weeks ago, Pegula had visibly improved elements of her game Sabalenka capitalised on in the mid-west.
Still having lost just two of her last 17 matches, the new American number one has leapfrogged Coco Gauff into third in the WTA rankings, joint with her career-high.
Rennae Stubbs think Jessica Pegula is missing one element of her game before major success
Losing 7-5, 7-5, Pegula played her part in what was a thrilling US Open final.
The 30-year-old is uniquely relaxed on court, can hit huge groundstrokes, and remains one of the best problem-solvers on the WTA tour.
Former doubles player Rennae Stubbs however has pinpointed Pegula’s second serve as the central part of her game that led her to defeat.
“Very small margins, but the biggest difference last night was the second serve.” Stubbs said in a US Open final review.
“So, Jessica Pegula, if she were to look at the winning percentages of second serves hit last night, Sabalenka was much higher in that category whereas Jessica Pegula was well under 30%.”
“If you are only winning 30% or less of your second serves that means you have to serve really well when it comes to first serves and that was the biggest issue last night.
“If there’s an area that she has to focus on it’s the serve, particularly the second serve.”
The hard court Grand Slams are Jessica Pegula’s best bet if she wants a Grand Slam
With a 69% win rate, Pegula is by far her most dominant when on the hard courts.
Moreover, five of her seven quarter-final appearances at the majors have come in Melbourne and New York.
Sabalenka went as far as predicting major success for Pegula immediately after the final, with the two sets proving a real battle.
With a successful title defense in Toronto before back-to-back finals in Cincinnati and New York, the 30-year-old will be keen to carry on this momentum to January’s Australian Open.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
