Pegula nears second Berlin crown after fourth win over Sabalenka sends her into final

Jessica Pegula faced a massive roadblock in her bid for a second Berlin title in the form of Aryna Sabalenka, but she navigated it with poise, dispatching the World No. 1 in three sets Saturday to reach her 23rd career singles final.

Berlin: Scores | Order of play | Draws

After leading 3-1 in the second-set tiebreak before a 2-hour, 19-minute rain delay washed away her momentum and handed it to Sabalenka, the 2024 Berlin champion responded with a flawless finish. Pegula won the final six games, blanking Sabalenka in the decider to close out a 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0 victory and secure a spot in the final.

"I told myself after I ended up losing that second-set tiebreak that before the rain delay, I had a lot of momentum," Pegula said afterward. "She just hit a double fault. I felt like I kind of had it there and I was serving well. I was in a good rhythm, and then having to get off court and losing that pretty quickly --only winning one point in the tiebreak -- was a little tough. But she's No. 1 in the world for a reason and I feel like I gave her too many easy shots and she went for it and that's just what happens.

"So I kind of said to myself, 'Well, I'm going to have to do it the hard way,' but I knew that if I did end up winning the match, I'd be really proud of myself with how I turned around after the rain delay, the break and losing the tiebreak. So I think now, looking back, even though I would have loved to win it in two, I think I'm still just as happy being able to win in three. And not just in three, but with a really decisive 6-0 set."

It marked just her fourth win over Sabalenka in 13 WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz meetings, though that record undersells the intensity of their rivalry. Their previous three matches before Saturday all went the distance.

This match was no different

First set: Pegula breaks early, doesn’t look back

After saving a pair of break points in her opening service game, Pegula quickly assumed control, breaking Sabalenka in the next game for a 2-1 lead. Pegula entered the tournament third on tour with a 78.4% hold rate (Sabalenka ranked first at 83.6%), and she showed why throughout the set.

She consolidated the break with a backhand winner for 3-1, then set up another hold for 4-2 with an ace that kicked off the line and forced Sabalenka to whiff on the return. She turned up the pressure on return in the next game, generating five break points before Sabalenka escaped with a hold behind a well-executed serve-and-volley.

No matter. Pegula responded with a love hold, then closed out the first set in style with another backhand winner. The final point reflected the set as a whole, as Pegula was the superior player in baseline exchanges from start to finish.

Second set: Sabalenka surges, Pegula rallies and rain delay shifts momentum

After pulling off a miraculous comeback from 6-2, 4-0 down against Nikola Bartunkova in Friday’s quarterfinals, Sabalenka was aiming for a second escape in as many days. But Pegula had other plans.

Sabalenka struck first in the second set, converting her third break point for a 2-0 lead. She extended that advantage to 5-2 after winning four straight points from 0-30 down to hold and move within a game of forcing a decider. Her first chance came in the next game, when she held two set points on Pegula’s serve. But the American held firm, saving both before ripping a forehand down the line to earn game point and eventually hold for 5-3.

Just as she did in the first set, Pegula rewarded her resilience by breaking in the following game, drilling a backhand return winner down the line for 5-4. She held again for 5-all, claiming her third straight game.

Another Pegula hold for 6-6 sent the set to a tiebreak.

Pegula opened the breaker with another backhand return winner for the immediate mini-break at 1-0, but Sabalenka answered with a backhand winner of her own to cut it to 2-1. A Sabalenka double fault restored Pegula’s two-point edge – just as the first drops of rain began to fall.

A couple of hours later, the sky was clear, the grass was dry and the players were back on court and ready to see the match through. Sabalenka came out firing, taking six of the next seven points -- four with winners -- the last one a forehand return winner that sealed the second set and forced a decider for the fourth straight meeting between them.

Third set: Pegula goes nuclear to book spot in final

There wasn't much subtlety to the final set, as Pegula produced some of her best tennis with the match on the line. More importantly, she hardly looked fazed after dropping the tiebreak, never losing her composure.

"I'm pretty laid back," Pegula said in her on-court interview. "I'm a pretty composed person. I like to take things in and I'm very aware of what's going on. So I don't get super emotional, and I think that's how I try to play. I just try to play true to myself. A lot of people used to tell me when I was younger that I needed to yell more and be jumping up and down. And honestly, it just feels like a waste of energy to me. So I try to just be myself out there and that's all that matters."

That's exactly how she played in the third set. Pegula finally converted her fourth break point in the second game for a 2-0 lead, then consolidated with a crosscourt forehand winner for 3-0. Another break followed for 4-0. She then leaned on the forehand again to hold for 5-0, before one final break provided a stunning conclusion to what had been an otherwise tightly contested match.

When the dust settled, Pegula had won 20 of the last 27 points to close out the match and book her spot in the final, while Sabalenka absorbed another crushing exit. It's her second straight event ending with a 6-0 deciding set, echoing her loss to Diana Shnaider in the Roland Garros quarterfinals.

Since the WTA Rankings were first published in 1975, Sabalenka is now the first World No. 1 to concede 6-0 deciding sets at multiple -- and consecutive -- WTA-level events.

On the other side, Pegula becomes the fifth player to claim three wins over the World No. 1 after turning 30, joining Martina Navratilova (5), Chris Evert (5), Serena Williams (5) and Virginia Wade (3).

She will face the hard-hitting No. 8 seed Linda Noskova in Sunday's final with a 12th career singles title on the line.