US Open: Jessica Pegula Forges Stunning Comeback To Pip Karolina Muchova, Enter First Major Final

The sixth-seeded Pegula, a 30-year-old from New York, has won 15 of her past 16 matches and will meet No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka for the women's singles title on Sunday. Sabalenka earlier trumped Emma Navarro in straight sets to reach her second straight US Open final.

Things did not look great for Pegula early: Muchova, the 2023 French Open runner-up but unseeded after missing nearly 10 months due to wrist surgery, utilized each ounce of her versatility and creativity, the traits that make her so hard to deal with on any surface.

With her delectable slices, deft touches at the net and serve-and-volleying working wonders, Muchova accounted for 10 of the match's first 12 winners. The first set lasted 28 minutes, and Muchova won 30 of its 44 points.

"I came out flat, but she was playing unbelievable. She made me look like a beginner," Pegula said. "I was about to burst into tears because it was embarrassing. She was destroying me."

Muchova won eight of the first nine games and was one point away from taking a 3-0 lead in the second set. But she couldn't convert a break chance there, messing up a forehand volley, and everything changed.

"I was thinking, 'All right. That was kind of lucky. You're still in this,'" Pegula said. "It comes down to really small moments that flip momentum."

In no time, the 52nd-ranked Muchova went from not being able to miss a shot to not being able to ace one. And Pegula turned on the heat, displaying the confident brand of tennis she used to eliminate No. 1 Iga Swiatek, a five-time Major champion, in straight sets earlier. Pegula had been 0-6 in Grand Slam quarter-finals before that breakthrough.

Muchova, a 28-year-old from the Czech Republic, who hadn't dropped a set in the tournament until then, began to fade. After going 7 for 7 on points at the net in the first set, she went 11 for 19 in the second. After only seven unforced errors in the first set, she had 19 in the second.

Pegula is the daughter of American billionaire Terry Pegula, the owner of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League and, along with his wife Kim Pegula, the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He is also the president of both franchises.

The 30-year-old's win means that both the men's and women's final will feature an American, the first time that has happened at a Major since 2009 Wimbledon. The last time it happened at the US Open was in 2002; that year, Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams, and Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi.

Pegula's incredible resurgence can be gauged from the fact that before this match, only three women had come back to win after dropping the first set by a 0-6 or 1-6 margin -- Sabalenka (2023), Victoria Azarenka (2020) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (2004).

(With AP inputs)