NEW YORK — There will be an American in both of the weekend’s U.S. Open finals, after Jessica Pegula fought back to defeat Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
When down a set and a break, the idea of Pegula extending home interest in the women’s draw felt fanciful, but she showed a lot of heart to turn the match around, against an opponent who eventually ran out of steam. Muchova was only recently returning from almost 10 months out with a wrist injury, and had suffered with stomach issues during her win over Beatriz Haddad Maia in the previous round.
Lying in wait for Pegula on Saturday is the No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who took out the other American semifinalist, Emma Navarro, earlier in the night. With one of Frances Tiafoe or Taylor Fritz lining up in Sunday’s men’s final, it promises to be a bumper weekend for American tennis, and an opportunity for Pegula to achieve a lifetime dream at age 30.
Jessica Pegula is into a first Grand Slam final. (Luke Hales / Getty Images)
She could smile disbelievingly at that prospect at the end of the match, but the jubilant scenes after the final point felt a long way off at the start. There was a flat atmosphere at Arthur Ashe Stadium during the early exchanges. Many of the fans in attendance were probably recovering…
