Sabalenka in final
No. 2 seed claims second-set tiebreaker to advance
NEW YORK — Aryna Sabalenka moved into her second consecutive U.S. Open final by taking the last seven points and beating Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6 (2) on Thursday with her usual brand of high-risk, high-reward tennis.
The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus who won each of the past two Australian Opens, came up a victory short of claiming the championship at Flushing Meadows a year ago, when she lost to Coco Gauff in front of a loud partisan crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
This time, Sabalenka got past another American opponent, the 13th-seeded Navarro — and never let the spectators play too much of a role until things got quite tight in the second set. Knowing she would be facing a player from the U.S. in this semifinal, Sabalenka joked after her previous match she would try to sway them to her side by buying booze, saying, “Drinks on me tonight?”
Navarro did not fold in the second set, despite trailing for much of it, and as the noise from the seats grew louder, she broke when Sabalenka served for the victory at 5-4. But in the tiebreaker that followed, after Navarro led 2-0, Sabalenka took over, grabbing every point that remained.
Sabalenka will play for the trophy on Saturday against yet another American, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, or unseeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. The Pegula-muchova semifinal was scheduled for later Thursday under the Ashe lights on a cool evening with only the slightest breeze.
For Muchova, that was going to be her fourth appearance in the final four at a Grand Slam tournament, including runs to that stage in New York and to the final of the French Open last year. Pegula had been 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals until eliminating No. 1 Iga Swiatek, a five-time major champion, in straight sets Wednesday night. Navarro, who defeated Gauff in the fourth round, is a 23-year-old who was born in New York, grew up in South Carolina and won an NCAA singles title for the University of Virginia in 2021. This was her debut in a Slam semifinal and, while she displayed the skills and steadiness that carried her there, Navarro was not able to keep up with Sabalenka, who was playing in that round at a major for the ninth time.
If Sabalenka is as demonstrative as can be, often holding a fist aloft and screaming after a big point or rolling her eyes after a miss, Navarro is far more subdued, rarely, if ever, betraying a hint of emotion, whether positive or negative.
Even when she broke to 5-all late, there wasn't really any way to tell what had just happened by looking at Navarro. The sounds from the seats were an indication. But soon, those fans were saluting Sabalenka for her latest show of mastery on a hard court.