Thrilling final against Pegulas: Sabalenka wins first US Open title

Aryna Sabalenka ließ sich auf den Rücken fallen, schlug die Hände vors Gesicht und weinte vor Freude. Die Topfavoritin hat erstmals die US Open gewonnen und Jessica Pegulas Traum von einem Überraschungstitel vor Heim-Fans beendet. Die Weltranglistenzweite aus Belarus setzte sich im packenden Finale gegen die Amerikanerin mit 7:5, 7:5 durch und feierte ihren insgesamt dritten Grand-Slam-Triumph.

Pegula hielt im ersten Grand-Slam-Finale ihrer Karriere lange Zeit gut mit, musste sich dem aggressiven Stil Sabalenkas aber verdient geschlagen geben.

„Oh mein Gott, ich bin sprachlos. Es war immer ein Traum von mir, endlich habe ich diese wunderschöne Trophäe“, sagte Sabalenka überwältigt. „Mir ging durch den Kopf, was ich letztes Jahr hier erlebt habe.“

In front of celebrities such as Formula 1 record world champion Lewis Hamilton, Olympic sprint champion Noah Lyles and basketball superstar Stephen Curry, Sabalenka prevented a similar sporting slump as in 2023. Back then, the two-time Australian Open winner was also on course for victory in the final against US crowd favorite Coco Gauff, but lost the title in three sets.

Now she gave away a 3-0 lead in the second set, but fought back after being 3-5 down and kept her nerve this time. After 1:53 hours, Sabalenka converted her second match point. “I wish she had only given me one set,” joked Pegula. “I didn’t expect to be here, in my first Grand Slam final.”

When Pegula entered the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, she took the large headphones off her ears and soaked up the atmosphere and the cheers of the more than 23,000 spectators under a closed roof. “She plays very strong tennis, plays very fast and aggressively,” Sabalenka warned her opponent shortly before the match began.

And Pegula demonstrated these qualities right from the start. In the semifinals, the 30-year-old had a disastrous start against the Czech Karolina Muchova and was at one point 1:6, 0:2 behind. Now she took Sabalenka’s serve early on to make it 2:1.

But the Belarusian didn’t let that deter her at first. With her powerful tennis, she dominated the rallies, scored many points with direct winning shots, repeatedly went to the net successfully and led 5:2.

But when the score was 5:3 and Pegula had a break point, the crowd applauded loudly after Sabalenka made a mistake on her first serve. Sabalenka wobbled and thundered her next forehand far out. The tension rose, the atmosphere became increasingly heated. Sabalenka tried to use this mentally to her advantage, encouraging the crowd to cheer even louder after a brilliant shot.

When Pegula hit a light backhand into the net at 5:6, four-time NBA champion Curry threw his hands over his face in horror. A short time later, Sabalenka sealed the win in the first set with a break.

And the favorite didn’t let up. She immediately took the serve from Pegula again, who threw her racket to the ground in disappointment. Sabalenka was leading 3-0 and had a break point – was everything clear? Not at all, Pegula fought back once again.

Suddenly the American was ahead 5:3 and was starting to get nervous. The underdog was unable to win any more games – when her forehand sailed out, her dream of the title was over.

Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz missed out on the doubles title at the US Open. The Davis Cup duo lost the final in New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium in 1 hour 33 minutes with 4:6, 6:7 (4:7) against the Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson.

This meant that 32-year-old Krawietz and Pütz, who is four years older, missed out on their first joint triumph at a Grand Slam tournament. However, they can look forward to prize money of 375,000 US dollars (around 338,000 euros) for reaching the final.

“We had a lot of fun playing on Arthur Ashe for the first time, that was something very special,” said Krawietz and thanked the numerous spectators. “Congratulations to Max and Jordan, they deserve it, they were the best team,” said Pütz.

Both will go straight on to the Davis Cup in China. The German team will be competing in the group phase there next week, and on Tuesday they will first play against Slovakia in Zhuhai. The German Tennis Association’s selection will have to make do without Alexander Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff and Dominik Koepfer in the singles.

The lower area of ​​the world’s largest tennis stadium was already completely full by midday. In front of the unusually large crowd, Krawietz and Pütz got off to a nervous start. Pütz made two double faults in the first game and the German duo conceded the first break to make it 2:3.

The Wimbledon finalists Purcell and Thompson remained largely confident on their own serve, fended off two break points at 5:4 and took the first set. The Australians also managed the first break in the second set to make it 3:2. They served to win, but suddenly Purcell was shaky. Krawietz/Pütz reached the tie-break, but there they squandered a 3:1 lead.

Previously, only German tennis professional Philipp Petzschner had reached the men’s doubles final at the US Open, winning the title in 2011 together with Austrian Jürgen Melzer. Krawietz had won the French Open title twice with his former doubles partner Andreas Mies. Pütz won the mixed doubles title in Paris in 2023 with Japanese Miyu Kato.