US Open finalists Sabalenka and Pegula prove power of positivity

Before Aryna Sabalenka steps on court against Jessica Pegula in the US Open final on Saturday, the Belarusian will already have a sense of the noise that will greet both players on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The New York crowd will, inevitably, favour the American player – but Sabalenka got some experience in how to handle that when she faced Emma Navarro in the semi-final.

“I had really tough lessons here in the past, really, like — as I think I had so many opportunities here, but I didn’t use it for different reasons. I wasn’t ready. Then I got emotional. Then I just couldn’t handle the crowd,” she said after her straight-sets win.

“So many times, like, not so many times, I felt like I just missed opportunity, and every time I’m coming back here, I really enjoy being in New York, I enjoy these courts, I enjoy crowd, I enjoy playing in this beautiful stadium in front of the crowd. I enjoy the city, the time on the court.

“Every time I’m coming back here, I have this positive thinking, like, Come, on, maybe this time. Every time I’m hoping that one day I’ll be able to hold that beautiful trophy.”

Pegula: I wanted to flip the script

Pegula has finally made it to a Grand Slam final at the age of 30 – fulfilling a childhood dream that she always hoped would come to fruition one day.

“I don’t know if I thought it’s not going to happen, but there’s definitely moments where either, like, I didn’t want to play tennis, I didn’t really know if I wanted to do it anymore. I mean, you definitely hit those types of low moments. I have definitely had several of those, but I think in the end I always would kind of snap back and be, like, okay, what am I talking about? I would always kind of flip the script a little bit, and I have always been good at doing that. I think that’s why I’ve always been able to come back from different challenges even better than before.

“Honestly, I’ve always felt like, not that it was never going to happen, I almost think the opposite. I always felt like, you know what, you’ll figure it out eventually. That’s always something I’ve always told myself, I’ll figure it out, like, one of these times!”

Sabalenka “cannot wait” for final

She knows she has a tough opponent in Sabalenka, the most threatening opponent on the hard court big stage, describing her as “really great”.

“I know that I can have a game that can possibly frustrate her. I feel like in the past I just, you know, have to be aggressive, I have to get her moving, serve smart, and try and put some pressure on her serve.”

For her part, Sabalenka says she “cannot wait” to play Pegula again.

“She’s playing her best tennis, I would say, and feels like she’s back on track. I mean, she won the tournament [the Canadian Open], then she made the final [in Cincinnati, where she lost to Sabalenka], then she’s here, a step away from another final. So she’s in incredible shape. It’s going to be another great battle against her.”

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