US denied as Rybakina, Sabalenka reach USO final

Elena Rybakina  and Aryna Sabalenka set up an all-star final at the US Open, with the top two in the world to face off on Saturday for the last Grand Slam title of the season.

Semifinal wins put the pair of eastern Europeans into the high-profile title match, leaving Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula with only disappointment on a home court in New York.

Sabalenka, who held world No. 1 for 99 weeks before being replaced by Kazakh Rybakina 48 hour ago here, dispatched Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in their semi-final while Rybakina wore down 2023 champion Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Sabalenka will be aiming to complete a title hat-trick at the event after winning the last two editions; that feat would match Serena Williams from 12 years ago.

All four leading seeds reached the semis, a situation which has not occurred since 2009 at Wimbledon.

Sabalenka extended her domination of Pegula, winning her 10th match from 14 meetings in the series and dishing out seven aces over the quick 80-minute victory and her fourth in a row at the Open when she plays Pegula.

Those victories include the 2024 final here , and the semis 12 months ago.

“To get this win in straight sets today really impressed me, to be honest. I’m really happy.”

She also confessed: ” I was super desperate. I lost a tough match on grass against Jess.

“It kind of like feels for me, talking about Grand Slams, like a last push of the season. I wanted it badly to go to the finals, and of course, I want to go all the way.

“I’m ready for whatever it’s going to take to get the win.”

Pegula could not help but be impresssed at her opponent’s red-hot form.

“It was probably the best match she’s played this year. Her level was insanely high.

“We were both playing well, serving well. She played a super-high level.

“Honestly, I don’t really know if there was much I could do today.”

Current Australian Open  holder Rybakina had never played an Ashe showcourt night match at this edition when she stepped out to face Gauff, but polished her record against Americans to 10 straight victories.

Gauff had won her last 11 matches but went down as an 11-match end streak was ended in just over two hours.

“Of course, a lot of people today wanted Coco to win. It’s normal. I think everyone understands” Rybakina said. “In the beginning I felt like it was a very nice atmosphere, and only in the end when I was up in the third set did the crowd really support a lot Coco. 

“But I tried to focus on myself, tried to not listen.”

Gauff ended with 32 unforced errors after being overhauled by Rybakina in the final two sets of the semi-final fightback.

The American won the opening set but found herself down a break 1-3 in the second. She got it back in the seventh game before losing serve again three games later to level at a set each.

The third set stayed level-pegging until Rybakina came out ahead after a run of three consecutive breaks to conclude victory on her first match point.

“It hurts. Yeah, it’s all great, but I think the competitor in me, this is the tournament I want to perform at,” Gauff said. 

“(This is) the one that you want to come out with a win. I hope to continue to keep putting myself in positions to hopefully win.”