Sabalenka beats Pegula to win Cincinnati Open

MASON, Ohio (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka won her first title since the Australian Open in January, beating Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5 in the Cincinnati Open on Monday.

Sabalenka moved up a spot to No. 2 in the rankings before the match, then didn't lose a set en route to her 15th WTA title. She had never gotten past the semifinals at Cincinnati, losing three times in that round.

The 26-year-old Sabalenka can now be considered a favorite at the U.S. Open. The Belarusian missed Wimbledon with a shoulder injury, then returned to the tour at Washington two weeks ago.

“I would say that I'm really playing great tennis,” Sabalenka said. “Probably not the best tennis I can play but I'm definitely getting there. Hopefully at the US Open I can reach even higher levels.”

Against Pegula, Sabalenka took 17 minutes to build a 4-1 lead in the first set. Pegula, who double-faulted five times, broke serve for the first time to tie the second set at 5-all, but Sabalenka won the next two games to finish off the 1-hour, 14-minute match.

“She was playing at a high level and never really came down,” Pegula said. “When she’s serving really well, it’s tough, especially on these fast courts.”

The sixth-ranked Pegula had a challenging road to the final. After defending her title at Toronto, the American played two matches on Friday because of weather-related postponements and had three matches go three sets. Her time on the court exceeded Sabalenka's by more than two hours entering the final.

“I'm proving to myself that I can play a lot of matches and overcome a lot of challenges,” Pegula said. “I'm looking forward to not doing anything for a few days."

Sabalenka joined top-ranked Iga Swiatek as the only players with 10 or more WTA titles since 2020. She beat Swiatek in the Cincinnati semis.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis