(Cincinnati) Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, ranked third in the world, beat American Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-5 in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati (hard) to claim her 15the title on the circuit one week before the US Open.
In this almost one-sided match, Sabalenka, already victorious on Sunday in the semi-final against her great rival Iga Swiatek at the end of a long arm wrestle concluded in her 10e match point, stifled her opponent, winner of the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto a week earlier.
Sabalenka, 26, who was playing in her first final in Ohio after missing the Paris Games, immediately imposed her power and technique to break Pegula’s serve on her second break point, which she then confirmed with a shutout (4-1).
PHOTO SUSAN MULLANE, USA TODAY SPORTS PROVIDED BY REUTERS
Jessica Pegula
The American, pushed by the Cincinnati crowd, seemed to come back into the match with sometimes well-felt shots that could have made her opponent doubt. But the latter, like a steamroller, with her irresistible serve (six aces in the first set, ten in total) stopped the New Yorker’s momentum to conclude the set in 31 minutes (6-3), having conceded only five small points on her serve.
Broken again at the start of the second act, Pegula tried to react, but with a break behind her fight proved futile, because the double champion of the Australian Open did not give up. On the contrary, she attacked her prey on her serve often won with clean sheets.
But when it came time to serve for the title at 5-4, Sabalenka unexpectedly faltered mentally, allowing Pegula to steal the serve from her.
Unperturbed by this setback, Sabalenka immediately took over her opponent’s serve before concluding the game in just 1 hour 15 minutes.
With this success, the Belarusian, who did not lose a single set during her week in Cincinnati, now leads 5-2 in their direct confrontations and has gained confidence before the start of the US Open on August 26, which she will approach in second place in the WTA rankings at the expense of the American Coco Gauff.