Belarusian Sabalenka beats American Pegula to win US Open women's title

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka beat sixth-seeded American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in the women's final of the US Open on Saturday.

Sabalenka defied the boos of the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd to defeat Pegula in the final to win her first title at Flushing Meadows.

A year after losing in the final, the second-seeded tennis player came back from down in both sets to win, but collapsed on the court at the moment of her triumph.

Pegula, 30, had been waiting a long time for her first major final but was no match for her opponent's brute strength despite the raucous support of the New York crowd.

The roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium was closed due to heavy rain, and players were forced to switch positions twice to prepare for the wild event in front of a crowd full of celebrities.

Sabalenka held serve in the 11th game at 4-2 and battled through a tense 12th game, combining precision at the net with her usual power from the baseline before breaking her opponent on the fifth set point.

Pegula struggled with her rackets throughout the match, complaining to coaches that she couldn't seem to find the right string tension, and it looked like she wouldn't be in contention in the second set when Sabalenka took a 3-0 lead.

But the American found another level and won over the fans, winning the next five games in a fierce battle.

Sabalenka tied the match in the 10th game when she hit a forehand winner that barely touched the line on break point and tried to close the match quickly by holding serve and then applying pressure from the baseline in the final game.

Sabalenka immediately burst into tears as she won her third Grand Slam title, winning the Australian Open twice, and she high-fived the crowd as she ran to the stands to share in the joyous celebration with her team.

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