“It felt like Serena with the way you were serving,” Jessica Pegula totally blown by Aryna Sabalenka’s performance in the Cincinnati Open final

Aryna Sabalenka won 92% of her first serve points in the Cincinnati Open final against Jessica Pegula.

“It felt like Serena with the way you were serving,” Jessica Pegula totally blown by Aryna Sabalenka’s performance in the Cincinnati Open final

Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula (via Imago)

Third seed Aryna Sabalenka won her sixth singles Masters 1000 title at the Cincinnati Open on Monday (August 19) after a 6-3, 7-5 win over Jessica Pegula. The Belarusian didn’t drop a set all week and looked dominant.

Perhaps the biggest reason behind Sabalenka’s dominance was her serve. In fact, Pegula compared the former World No.1’s serving performance in the final to that of tennis legend Serena Williams.

YouTube video
First congrats to Aryna. Andrew said ‘Aryna’ and I thought he said ‘Serena.’ But it felt like Serena, with the way you were serving today. I don’t know.. I may have wanted Serena with the way you were serving today.
Jessica Pegula said in the post-match ceremony at the Cincinnati Open

Sabalenka won 92% of her first-serve points, compared to 64% for Pegula. She landed 71% of her serves and generated ten aces.

FS Video

The Belarusian ace’s serve was broken only once during the match when she was serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. However, she broke Pegula again and successfully served out the match on her second attempt.

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Aryna Sabalenka gets past Jessica Pegula in straight sets to end 7-month title drought in Cincinnati Open
Aryna Sabalenka Cincinnati Open

Aryna Sabalenka dominates Jessica Pegula in the Cincinnati Open final

Aryna Sabalenka won her second title of the year and her first since the Australian Open by defeating Jessica Pegula in the Cincinnati Open final. This victory gave the former World No.1 her 15th career and her sixth WTA 1000 title in singles.

Aryna Sabalenka Cincinnati Open
Aryna Sabalenka (via X)

Only two active players, Iga Swiatek and Victoria Azarenka, have won more WTA 1000 titles, with both winning 10. The Cincinnati title is Sabalenka’s first WTA 1000 win since the 2023 Madrid Open and her first hard-court WTA 1000 title since Doha in 2020.

This victory will move the third seed up to No. 2 in the PIF WTA Rankings, passing Coco Gauff. She will also overtake Elena Rybakina to claim the No. 2 spot on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard.

Pegula had a strong run leading up to the final, with nine consecutive wins, including her title at the National Bank Open. She was aiming to be the first woman in over 50 years to win both Canada and Cincinnati Opens in the same season.

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