New York (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Just over 24 hours removed from her upset victory over world No. 1 ranked Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula continued her stellar play at the U.S. Open, this time with a remarkable comeback victory over unranked Karolina Muchova, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
After a 1-1 start to the first set, Pegula would not see another win for the remainder of the set, with Muchova coasting to the 6-1 victory.
Muchova's torrid start carried over into the beginning of the second set, with the Czech-born player jumping out to a 2-0 lead.
However, after conceding seven unanswered games to Muchova, Pegula found her groove, taking the next four games, and jumping out to a 4-2 lead in the set.
The lead was short-lived as Muchova rallied back to tie the set at 4-4, but Pegula finished strong, taking the next two games to win the set, 6-4, and forcing a third set to decide the fate of the match.
Pegula came out hot to open Set 3, jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Muchova took two of the next three to make it a 4-2 set.
Despite that, Pegula was unfazed, slamming the door on any potential comeback from Muchova, winning the final two games of the set to win the match and punch her ticket to her first tennis Major final appearance after having previously never advanced past the quarterfinals.
After the lackluster start, which saw Pegula drop eight of the first nine games, she finished by collecting 20 of the game's final 26 points and winning 12 of its last 16 games.
Pegula once again got the better of the two. The only prior meeting between both players on the WTA tour was a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 triumph for Pegula during the second round of the 2024 Cincinnati Open, where Pegula finished as the runner-up.
Pegula now enters the U.S. Open final having won 15 of her last 16 matches. Her only loss? Her opponent in the upcoming final match, No. 2 ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who got the better of Pegula 6-3, 7-5 in the finals of the Cincinnati Open last month.
Sabalenka leads the all-time series between the two, 5-2, and is competing in her second-consecutive U.S. Open finals match.
The two will square off for the title on Saturday.
