NEW YORK
\nAryna Sabalenka said she felt \u201csuper proud\u201d to win the US Open and claim her third Grand Slam crown with a thrilling victory over a gallant Jessica Pegula in a rollercoaster final on Saturday. World number two Sabalenka triumphed 7-5, 7-5 to add the New York title to her back-to-back Australian Open victories.
\nPegula went down fighting, however, recovering from 0-3 and break point down to lead 5-3 in the second set before Sabalenka came through.
\nThe 26-year-old from Belarus clubbed 40 winners to become the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to capture both hardcourt majors in the same season.
\n\u201cI remember all those tough losses in the past here and it\u2019s going to sound easy but never give up on your dream and just keep trying, keep working hard,\u201d said Sabalenka, the runner-up last year and semi-finalist in 2022 and 2023.
\n\u201cI\u2019m speechless right now. So many times I thought I was so close to get the US Open title. It has always been a dream of mine and finally I got this beautiful trophy.
\n\u201cI\u2019m just super proud of myself. I\u2019m super proud of my team as well.\u201d
\nPegula had arrived in New York with a title in Toronto and runner-up spot to Sabalenka in Cincinnati.
\nShe had won 15 out of 16 matches on the North American summer hard court swing.
\n\u201cI wish she would have at least let me get one set. We had a tough match in Cincinnati a few weeks ago and she\u2019s one of the best in the world,\u201d said the American.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s super powerful and isn\u2019t going to give you anything. She can take the racquet out of your hand.
\n\u201cI\u2019m just glad I was able to stay in there and keep taking opportunities.\u201d
\nSabalenka made a point of thanking the crowd after taking a thinly-veiled dig at the atmosphere she had faced when she defeated New York-born Emma Navarro in the semi-finals.
\n\u201cHonestly guys, thank you. I heard a lot of support. You were cheering for me on those good moments but of course I expected you to cheer for Jessica. I wouldn\u2019t be normal if you were to cheer for me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW YORK Aryna Sabalenka said she felt \u201csuper proud\u201d to win the US Open and claim her third Grand Slam crown with a thrilling victory over a gallant Jessica Pegula in a rollercoaster final on Saturday. World number two Sabalenka triumphed 7-5, 7-5 to add the New York title to her back-to-back Australian Open victories. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430124,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-430105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n