Aryna Sabalenka won her first title since the Australian Open, beating Jessica Pegula in the final of the 2024 Cincinnati Open.
It's been a while since the Belarusian player was able to get her hands on a trophy because the last one she won was at the Australian Open in January. She's been in a few finals since then but has lost all of them, but that was rectified with a superb performance against Pegula at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati.
Sabalenka has generally played well in Cincinnati over the years. The fast surface aids her devastating attacking play, which few players can counter. Back-to-back semi-finals in the past two years prove how well she's played in the American city.
Beating Iga Swiatek in the semi-final this year confirmed that the World No. 3 was having a really good week. Swiatek is one of the few players who can counter her from the baseline, but she proved no match in their semi-final clash.
That meant a very long day at the office for Pegula, who has been playing well, too. She was on a nine-match winning streak before this match, but her previous match against Sabalenka proved that this was going to be a challenging match for the American.
The third seed's early break in this match only confirmed that because she started aggressively. Pegula is a great hitter, but the problem is that her Belarusian opponent is not only a better hitter but also has more power.
The two-time Australian Open winner has been in the zone this week, hitting the ball incredibly well. She overwhelmed her opponent in this match, and most of the points ended on Sabalenka's will.
Either she hit a winner or forced her opponent to miss, or she missed herself, ending the point that way. The resolve was to simply finish points on her will, no matter how they ended.
It's an efficient way to play for a player who has so much power as she does, especially with the form she has been in this week. On her own serve, Sabalenka was untouchable for her opponent.
She served incredibly well, hitting six aces in the opening set. She didn't have any double faults, and her serving was generally much better than it was only a week ago in Toronto, as she won the first set 6-3.
Pegula tried her best, and she's a good player, but this was a level too high for her. It would have been too high for anybody. The start of the second set didn't bring any changes for the home crowd favorite, as Sabalenka could break her opponent's serve early once again and make it 2-0.
She was just a force that nobody was stopping. Pegula was not bad, but she rushed a bit in the second set, giving away her serve with two double faults. The pressure Sabalenka was bringing forced Pegula to try something.
It backfired, but she had to do something because nothing was working. It seemed that the World No. 3 would comfortably cruise to the finish line to win her second trophy this year after the Australian Open, but when serving for the match, she was broken by her opponent.
Still, Sabalenka was able to regroup and cross the finish line victoriously, continuing to dominate with her power to win the match 6-3, 7-5 and lift the trophy in Cincinnati.
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