It wasn't an easy road for Jessica Pegula to her first career Grand Slam final.
The 30-year-old was dominated in the first set by Karolina Muchova in the U.S. Open semi-finals on Thursday.
Muchova won the set 6-1, winning 30 of the 44 total points in the set and contributing 10 of the first 12 winners in the match. The first set took just 28 minutes.
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Jessica Pegula (USA) reacts after defeating Karolina Muchova (Czech Republic) on day 11 of the 2024 US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. (Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images)
Pegula, appearing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, was shaken.
“I played mediocre and she played incredible. She made me look like a beginner,” Pegula said. “I was so embarrassed I almost cried. She was beating me.”
The second set started not much differently from the first, with Muchova one point away from a commanding 3-0 lead but failing to convert a break point that gave Pegula renewed energy.
The match was the start of a winning streak in which Pegula won nine of 11 games to take the second set 6-4 and start the third set 3-0.
“I found my way, I found my adrenaline, I found my footing, and then late in the second set and into the third set, I started playing the way I wanted to play. It took a while,” Pegula said.
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Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic reacts after losing a point to Jessica Pegula of the United States during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Julia Nickinson)
“I don't know how we turned it around.”
One of the reasons for her turnaround was that Muchova was starting to sober up.
She led the net 7-7 in the first set and then 29-15 afterward. She made just seven unforced errors in the first set but increased that to 33 in the second and third sets.
Pegula defied Muchova's expectations with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory, giving Muchova a chance to win her first Grand Slam title.
Pegula's opponent in the U.S. Open women's final will be world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, a player she is familiar with.
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Jessica Pegula of the United States reacts after winning a point against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, Thursday, September 5, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Julia Nickinson)
Sabalenka beat the American at the hard-court Cincinnati Open in August, handing Pegula her only loss in their last 16 matches.
“Hopefully I can get some revenge here,” Pegula said.
Pegula's revenge match against Sabalenka is scheduled for Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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