Jessica Pegula staged an astonishing recovery from a set and a break down to defeat Karolina Muchova and reach her first Grand Slam final at the US Open on Thursday.
The sixth-ranked American came through 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 and will take on world number two and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday's championship match.
Sabalenka reached her second successive US Open final by seeing off another American, Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6 (7/2). "I thought I was lucky to still be in it," admitted Pegula after seeing Czech opponent Muchova miss an easy chance to go 3-0 up with a double break in the second set. "She made me look like a beginner, she was destroying me and I was about to burst into tears but it all came down to small moments. "I don't know how I turned that around." Pegula has now won 15 of 16 matches on the US summer hard court swing which saw a title in Toronto and defeat in the Cincinnati final to Sabalenka. "It's a chance for revenge, but she'll be tough to beat," said Pegula.
Muchova saved three break points in the third game of the first set which sparked a rapid collapse by Pegula. The 30-year-old American dropped serve in the fourth and sixth games and lost a set for the first time in the tournament.