Aryna Sabalenka harnessed her powerful serve to subdue American Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5 and win the Cincinnati Open on Monday, sending a message ahead of the year's final major in New York.
The twice Australian Open champion dropped only nine points on serve and hit 10 aces as she overcame some jitters late in the second set in an otherwise confident performance to pick up her sixth WTA 1000 title.
Pegula had appeared to be in good form after she retained her title in Toronto earlier this month but she struggled with her serve, committing five double faults as her nine-match unbeaten run came to an end.
Sabalenka secured the crucial break in the fourth game after Pegula hit a forehand into the net and capitalized on the momentum with a hold to love in the fifth, closing out the first set with an unreturnable serve.
She continued her strong play in the second set, sending over a barrage of powerful forehands to gain another break in the opening game. Despite Pegula managing her lone break point with a double fault and a pair of unforced errors in the 10th game, Sabalenka broke back immediately and sealed the victory by forcing Pegula into an error on match point. Celebrating her triumph, Sabalenka blew kisses to the crowd and will move up one spot to number two in the rankings ahead of the U.S. Open, which starts next week.
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Aryna Sabalenka overpowers Jessica Pegula to win Cincinnati Open
cgtn.com
