Miami Gardens (United States) (AFP) – World number one Aryna Sabalenka powered her way to the Miami Open title on Saturday, beating American Jessica Pegula 7-5 6-2 in the WTA 1000 event at Hard Rock Stadium. The title was the Belarusian’s first at Miami and her second of the season following her January triumph in Brisbane. Having lost the final at Indian Wells to Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva earlier this month, Sabalenka was determined not to fall at the last hurdle again.
“I’m super happy to have this trophy; I was able to play my best tennis in the final,” said Sabalenka, who paid tribute to Pegula’s performance after repeating her win over her from last year’s US Open final. Both players struggled to hold their serve in the first set, which saw seven breaks of serve, with Pegula causing Sabalenka some trouble when she brought her up to the net. But the momentum shifted when Pegula was serving to stay in the set at 6-5 down, and Sabalenka turned it on, producing a delicate forehand drop and then a superb down the line winner to take the set.
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Once she recovered from being broken on her first service game of the second set, it was easier going for Sabalenka, whose bid for a third straight Australian Open title was thwarted in the Melbourne final by Madison Keys earlier this year. Sabalenka broke twice to go 3-1 up and never looked in danger from that point on as she wrapped up the win in one hour 27 minutes. “I think I was able to completely forget about (it being) the final, about the outside things, and I was just so focused on the game,” said Sabalenka.
In her last 14 matches against top 10 players, Sabalenka has won 12, and she credited her ability in the clutch moments for her record. “It is all about those key moments of the match, about playing aggressive and staying with the game plan, going for shots without being afraid of losing the point,” she said. It was the third time that Pegula has faced Sabalenka in a final, and she has lost on all three occasions. “I consider myself one of the world’s best hard-court players, but she’s probably the best,” Pegula conceded after the match.
“She just keeps raising her level in key moments of the match when she needs to, and I feel like that was the big difference today and the last few times I have played her,” she added. But Pegula, the world number four, said she was pleased to again have been a serious contender in a tournament. “Happy to be in another big 1000 final and having consistent results and keeping going deep in tournaments. The reason we play is to put ourselves in good chances to win these events. I was able to do that the last couple of weeks,” she said.
The 26-year-old Sabalenka has now won eight WTA 1000 titles and 19 titles on the WTA Tour overall – 17 of which have come on hard courts, including all three of her Grand Slam singles titles: the 2023 Australian Open, the 2024 Australian Open, and the 2024 US Open. She looks a calmer, more focused presence on court than in her earlier seasons when she was capable of bouts of rage when the going got tough. “I think before, every time I would lose my serve, one game, I could just completely lose the match because I would still be thinking about that first game,” she said.
Sabalenka said that her struggles in the past with her serve had allowed her to develop a stronger all-round game and more positive mentality. “When I was struggling with my serve, I had to push myself on the return and had to play with something else. So now, every time I am losing (serve), I know that I have weapons, that I can return well and that I can break back,” she said. “I think that challenge really helped me to be more focused and not get too crazy on court after losing a game on my serve,” she added.
The men’s final on Sunday will feature Novak Djokovic up against Czech 19-year-old Jakub Mensik, with the Serb looking for his 100th professional title.
© 2024 AFP
