NEW YORK — Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka was simply too good for Jessica Pegula yet again, winning their US Open semifinal 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday night in a rematch of last year's final.
The No. 1-seeded Sabalenka moved one victory away from becoming the first woman to claim consecutive championships at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams got three in a row from 2012 to 2014.
On Saturday, Sabalenka will meet No. 8 Amanda Anisimova or No. 23 Naomi Osaka for the trophy.
This matchup was quite close, far closer than the straight-sets triumph for Sabalenka over Pegula 12 months ago that gave the 27-year-old from Belarus her third Grand Slam title, all on hard courts.
Since then, Sabalenka was the runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January and to Coco Gauff at the French Open in June, then was eliminated in the Wimbledon semifinals by Anisimova in July.
When this one ended on Sabalenka's third match point — after two bad errors on her initial chances — she rocked back on her heels, spread her arms and screamed.
«I had to work really hard to get this win,» she said in her on-court interview after improving to 8-2 against Pegula over their careers. «Hopefully I can go all the way again.»
Arthur Ashe Stadium's retractable roof was shut before the semifinals began, which prevented disruption from the wind outside that gusted at up to 30 mph and the rain that arrived during play.
In the good, indoor conditions, No. 4 Pegula played about as cleanly as possible in the first set and the third, making just three unforced errors in each. But in the second, that count was nine.
By the end, Sabalenka had accumulated more than twice as many winners as Pegula, 43-21.
All evening, Pegula went after her returns,
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