New York: The spirited Jessica Pegula made a remarkable comeback in the match after a sluggish start, recovering from a set and breakdown at the women's singles U.S. Open semi-final to beat Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 to secure her spot in her first Grand Slam final.
The No. 6-seeded Pegula, a 30-year-old from New York, has been in exceptional form, having won 15 of her last 16 matches and will meet last year's runner-up Aryna Sabalenka for the title on Saturday.
The world number two Sabalenka has entered in the back-to-back US Open final by holding off a late push to beat another American No. 13 Emma Navarro. 6-3, 7-6 (2).
Coming to the match, the American Pegula, who was playing her first-ever semi-final at a Grand Slam, looked nervous to start as she gave two break points in the opening set. Muchova seized the opportunity and sealed the set by 6-1.
Muchova didn't stop their, but continued her momentum in the second set, winning the first two games. After losing seven games on the trot, Pegula's shoulders were down and it was the present crowd who cheered up the local star that boosted her confidence. The 30-year-old then displayed some resilience and fight and made the game out of it. She then went on to win four games in a row with the help of two break points to claw her way back into the match.
The 30-year-old then put pressure on Muchova who ended up losing the second set by 4-6 with a double fault. With one set each to their names, the match entered in the final set as a place in a maiden US Open final was on the line.
Having finally found her momentum, Pegula didn't allow her opponent to make a comeback in the match as she closed out the set by 6-2 despite some good fight by her Czech rival and entered her maiden Grand Slam final.
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