On Saturday, Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka will play for the US Open title (4 p.m. ET (ESPN; ESPN+). Pegula is the underdog, playing her first major final, while Sabalenka has two Australian Open titles and has made the US Open final the past two years.
Who will prevail? Our experts weigh in.
What can Pegula do to defeat Sabalenka?
Jason Goodall: For Pegula to stand any kind of chance at all — barring a Sabalenka meltdown — she has to solve the puzzle of how to return Sabalenka’s first serve and win enough points on her own second serve.
At the Cincinnati Open final — granted the conditions were a lot quicker, which played into Sabalenka’s hands — Pegula really struggled to handle the slice serve out wide to her forehand in the right court. Even if she got it back, Sabalenka then made very good use of her first shot to outmaneuver Pegula.
And when she got a look at Pegula’s second serve — which is highly predictable — she jumped all over it. Can Pegula serve well enough to create scoreboard pressure — and can she return well enough to neutralize Sabalenka’s serve?
D’Arcy Maine: It’s going to be an uphill battle for the American. In addition to Sabalenka’s experience in major finals, she also has a 5-2 series edge over Pegula.
But Pegula wasn’t…
