Cincinnati Open: Aryna Sabalenka defeats Jessica Pegula to win her last tournament before the US Open
By Matias Grez, CNN
(CNN) — Aryna Sabalenka finalized her preparations for the US Open with an impressive 6-3 7-5 win over Jessica Pegula in the Cincinnati Open final.
It was as close to a perfect week as Sabalenka could have hoped for, with the new world No. 2 not dropping a single set en route to her first title since she successfully defended her Australian Open crown in January.
In world No. 6 Pegula, Sabalenka was facing perhaps the most in-form player on the WTA Tour as the American entered Monday’s final on a nine-game winning streak after her victory at the Canadian Open in Toronto last week.
Pegula was hoping to become the first woman since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1973 to win both the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open in the same season, but her attempt at the historic double was thwarted by Sabalenka’s power and precision.
“I would say that I’m really playing great tennis,” Sabalenka said afterwards, per the WTA. “Probably not like the best tennis I can play, but I’m definitely getting there.
“And with every match I play, I feel better, better and better, and hopefully at the US Open, I can keep building the level, and I can – I can reach maybe even higher level than I used to play.”
The Belarusian hammered down 10 aces and won 91% of points on her first serve, leading Pegula to joke after the match that “it felt like Serena [Williams] today with the way you were serving there.”
“I don’t know, I may have wanted Serena instead of Aryna today,” she added.
Cincinnati is the sixth WTA 1000 title of Sabalenka’s career – the third most among active players – and she improves her head-to-head over Pegula to 5-2 going into the US Open.
“Incredible couple weeks,” Pegula said after the match. “Unfortunately, too good from Aryna today. I mean, she was playing at a really high level and it didn’t seem to come down. And I had some chances at the end, but wasn’t able to do it.”
The US Open gets underway on August 26.
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