A late start and a slow one
The all-American quarterfinal did not begin until nearly 8:30 pm in New York, close to 90 minutes behind the usual start of the night session, because the day programme had refused to end. Emma Navarro handled the wait better. She broke Jessica Pegula twice inside the opening set and took it 6-3 while the No. 3 seed was still finding her range.
Pegula reset in the second and won it 6-4. The third turned on a stretch of four consecutive games. Navarro had broken for a 2-1 lead and looked capable of closing it out; Pegula took the next four and the match with it, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 21 minutes.
This is becoming her signature. Pegula has now won 19 three-set matches this season, more than any other player on the WTA Tour, and she had already climbed out of a one-set hole against Leylah Fernandez in the third round.
Try it for $0.99.
The Sabalenka problem, year three
Thursday brings Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1 and two-time defending champion, who came through her own quarterfinal against Linda Noskova earlier in the day. The two of them have now met in the semifinals or later at three consecutive US Opens, something only three other pairs of women have managed in the Open era.
The record from those meetings reads badly for Pegula. Sabalenka beat her in the 2024 final and again in the 2025 semifinals after losing the opening set.
“To me, I think it’s fun to look at the rivalry we’ve had,” Pegula said. “She’s gotten me here the last couple of years. I have been able to beat her a few times, maybe on a smaller stage, so I think that’s going to be kind of a hurdle for me to get over.”
A late-career peak
Pegula is 32. She reached the Australian Open semifinals in January and has now added a second major semifinal in the same calendar year, which makes her the oldest woman in the Open era to do that for the first time in her career.
Navarro leaves New York having pushed a top-three seed into a decider on the sport’s biggest court, which is not the worst way to lose.
Discover the rest of our tennis news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply