At the 2023 US Open, Gauff made history by becoming the youngest American woman to clinch the US Open trophy since Serena Williams at 17 in 1999. The young prodigy stunned Sabalenka by staging an incredible comeback, rallying from a set down to seize her first major title.
It was a crushing blow for Sabalenka. The world No.2 faltered in the decisive third set, losing the set in just eight games as mistakes infiltrated her game.
Navarro’s commendable determination saw the second set swing from 5-3 in Sabalenka’s favour to a tiebreak. Although this brought back memories of her loss to Gauff, Sabalenka remained resolute and dominated the tiebreak to progress to her second consecutive US Open final.
She credits her previous defeat to Gauff as instrumental in helping her secure the win amidst the boisterous Arthur Ashe crowd.
After progressing to the semi-finals, two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka recounted the intense emotions she faced during her recent match and how the ‘very tough’ experience of last year’s final helped her through.
“That was very difficult match, especially at the end of the second set I got a little emotional and had this little flashback on last year’s final, meaning the crowd atmosphere,” she said.
“I’m really glad that the lessons learned, and I was able to control my emotions and I was able to close this match in two sets.”
“Last year, it was very tough experience, very tough lesson. Today in the match, I was, like, ‘No, no, no, Aryna, it’s not going to happen again. You have to control your emotions. You have to focus on yourself.’
“Tough losses never make me feel depressed. It’s only motivated me to come back and to try one more time, try harder and maybe, like, work harder on some things which maybe didn’t work in the past. I’m still hoping to hold that beautiful trophy.”
“It’s only motivated me to come back and to try one more time, try harder and maybe, like, work harder on some things which maybe didn’t work in the past. I’m still hoping to hold that beautiful trophy.”
Looking forward to the final showdown at the U.S Open against Jessica Pegula, who beat Karolina Muchova, Sabalenka should expect an energetic New York crowd rooting strongly for the home favourite, current world No. 6 Pegula.
Sabalenka is set to clash with Pegula in the women’s US Open final on Saturday, 7th September 2024.