Aryna Sabalenka's cheeky sledge as clash with billionaire heiress set for US Open final

Jessica Pegula shrugged off a sluggish start and came back from a set and a break down at the US Open to defeat Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 for a berth in her first grand slam final.

The No.6-seeded Pegula, a 30-year-old billionaire heiress from New York, has won 15 of her past 16 matches and will meet world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka for the title.

Sabalenka, last year's runner-up to Coco Gauff at Flushing Meadows, returned to the championship match by holding off a late push to beat USA's 13th seed Emma Navarro of the 6-3, 7-6(2).

DAY 8 WRAP: Star's 48-year first, amputee's glory

READ MORE: 'Un-Australian' coach sacked by Swimming Australia

READ MORE: Jorgensen tipped for ton as injuries hit Wallabies

Things did not look promising for Pegula early: Muchova, the 2023 French Open runner-up but unseeded after missing about 10 months because of wrist surgery, employed every ounce of her versatility and creativity, the traits that make her so hard to deal with on any surface.

The slices. The touch at the net. The serve-and-volleying. Ten of the match's first 12 winners came off her racquet. The first set lasted 28 minutes, and Muchova won 30 of its 44 points.

Muchova grabbed eight of the first nine games and was one point from leading 3-0 in the second set. But she couldn't convert a break chance there, flubbing a forehand volley, and everything changed.

Quickly, the 52nd-ranked Muchova went from not being able to miss a shot to not being able to make one. And Pegula turned it on, demonstrating the confident brand of tennis she used to eliminate No.1 Iga Swiatek, a five-time major champion, in straight sets on Wednesday. Pegula had been 0-6 in major quarterfinals before that breakthrough.

She now faces Belarusian Sabalenka in the final, who moved into her second consecutive decider at Flushing Meadows with a strong start and a late surge, taking the last seven points to beat Navarro, another American billionaire heiress, 6-3, 7-6(2) with her usual brand of high-risk, high-reward tennis.

The 26-year-old Belarusian who won each of the past two Australian Opens, came up a victory short of claiming the championship in New York a year ago, when she lost to Gauff in front of a rowdy partisan crowd.

This time, Sabalenka got past another American opponent, the 13th-seeded Navarro — and never let the fans play too much of a role until things got interesting down the stretch.

Knowing she would be facing a player from the US in this semi-final, Sabalenka joked after her previous match she would try to sway them to her side by buying booze, saying, "Drinks on me tonight?"

Watch the 2024 US Open tennis for free on 9Now. Every match will be ad-free, live and on demand with Centre Court in 4K UHD on Stan Sport.

Navarro did not fold in the second set, despite trailing for much of it, and as the noise around her grew, she broke when Sabalenka served for the victory at 5-4.

"I wasn't ready for the match to be over," Navarro said.

But in the tiebreaker that followed, Sabalenka took over after Navarro led 2-0, grabbing every point that remained.

"I kind of got my teeth into it there at the end of the second set," Navarro said, "and I felt I could definitely push it to a third. Wasn't able to do so."

Navarro, who defeated Gauff in the fourth round, was competing in her debut in a slam semi-final 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, thousands of ticket-holders were saluting Sabalenka for her latest show of mastery on a hard court; she's now into her fourth straight final at a major held on that surface.

"Well, guys, now you are cheering for me," Sabalenka said with a laugh during her on-court interview. "Well, it's a bit too late."

By the end of the contest, Sabalenka had produced 34 winners and 34 unforced errors — punctuating most of her groundstrokes with a yell — and in a fitting bit of symmetry, Navarro had 13 winners and 13 unforced errors.

Sabalenka showed she is not simply a swing-from-the-heels power player, even if that is the foundation of her game.

She delivered one optimally timed return winner to help break for a 4-2 lead early. She offered up two terrifically delicate drop shots to earn points later in that set. When Navarro failed to get a return in play off a 160 km/h serve, Sabalenka was halfway to the win.

A break to go up 3-2 seemingly put Sabalenka in charge of the second set, too, but Navarro made a stand. In the end, it wasn't enough.

- with Sacha Mirzabegian