Jessica Pegula beats Karolina Muchova to reach US Open final

NEW YORK — Jessica Pegula came from behind to beat Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, ensuring that Americans will play in both matches of this weekend’s U.S. Open final.

The idea of ​​Pegula retaining domestic interest in the women’s singles seemed unrealistic when she was down a set and a break, but she showed great determination to turn the match around against a eventually worn-out opponent. Muchova had recently returned from a nearly 10-month absence with a wrist injury and had upset her stomach in her last match against Beatrice Haddad Maia.

Awaiting Pegula on Saturday will be No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who beat the other American semifinalist that night, Emma Navarro. Either Frances Tiafoe or Taylor Fritz will play in the men’s final on Sunday. It promises to be a packed weekend for American tennis — and for the 30-year-old Pegula, a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream.

She smiled in disbelief at the prospect at the end of the match, but the jubilation after the final point seemed distant early on. The mood was subdued during the early battle at Arthur Ashe Stadium — many in the crowd were still recovering from the excitement of Sabalenka’s win over Navarro in the first semifinal — and the more subdued atmosphere suited Muchova more than Pegula.

The Czech player is able to display his unparalleled versatility without being distracted by external factors and Pegula appeared calm, perhaps still feeling the effects of his win over Iga Swiatek 24 hours earlier.

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Muchova won the first set after surviving three break points in the third game, thanks in large part to a devastating volley rarely employed by players on the WTA Tour, as well as a slice, which Muchova found similar success with. When Pegula scurried along the baseline, she was bound to hit the ball, and Muchova was waiting, ready to flick the volley away.

As if to highlight the contrast between the two players, Pegula belatedly tried a similar tactic, except this time she volleyed from an awkward position and the ball landed in the bottom of the net, putting Muchova up 5-1. Five points and less than 30 minutes later, the set was over. “She treated me like a beginner and I nearly started crying,” Pegula said on court after her win.

Karolina Muchova outplayed Jessica Pegula in the first set. (Charlie Triborough/AFP via Getty Images)

This was exactly what Pegula had feared. When Muchova is confident, she enters a kind of flow state where everything looks easy. Emboldened by a decisive lead, she was able to hit any shot. A drop shot helped her break in the first game of the second set, and she skipped to her chair for the change of ends.

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Pegula walked slowly. It was getting awkward. The win over Swiatek was her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in seven tries, but the lesson didn’t feel like much of a reward.

Even when Muchova missed a shot, she seemed intent on trying again on the next point, like an inventor constantly coming up with new ideas. She looked like she was taking batting practice, while Pegula looked like she was having a nightmare.

Jessica Pegula struggled to get into the match until the fourth game of the second set. (Scott Wenig/The Associated Press)

The sixth seed desperately needed a moment to hype herself and the crowd, and that moment came in the third game of the set, when, facing a break point, she stretched out for a forehand slice that forced her opponent to miss a volley.

“That was lucky,” she said later.

Pegula then hung on at 2-1, breaking Muchova’s serve for the first time in the next game, again defending well and finally enjoying some joy when the Czech stood at the net.

Muchova had a break point in the next game, but Pegula used her sheer willpower to win three games in a row to take a 3-2 lead.

Whether it was Muchova dwelling on a missed volley at 3-0 or her fitness issues having just returned from wrist surgery, Muchova’s level was dropping just as Pegula’s was rising. Pegula broke again with a beautiful inside-in forehand winner and a clean backhand strike. Her lobs were also coming in much deeper, forcing Muchova to hit increasingly unnatural smashes. In the next game, Pegula hit a ball that floated cleanly over Muchova’s head and down the baseline.

Muchova won 7 of 7 points at net in the first set, but that ratio dropped to 11 of 19 in the second.

Pegula was quickly broken back, but Muchova’s rhythm was off. She was no longer flowing, and her strokes suddenly didn’t feel as natural as they once did. Pegula sensed this and started to step in on her returns. After double-faulting on set point at 5-4, Muchova quickly left the court. It was the first set she’d lost in the tournament.

The early signs in the third set were not so good for her. Muchova was smashing forehands and it looked like the match was on its way to being lost by Pegula. She held serve to take the lead on the scoreboard for the first time in the match and then deservedly broke for 2-0. Perhaps wary of Pegula’s stepped up defense or feeling physically overwhelmed, Muchova was sending fewer darts towards the net, which was good news for the American, as she fended off a break point to make it 3-0.

Jessica Pegula turned around a match that looked like she was going to lose as Karolina Muchova’s level dropped. (Sarah Steer/Getty Images)

Muchova could have given up at this point, but she showed the most impressive determination to keep fighting, and at 1-3 and 40-30 down, she produced two of the most incredible defensive points I’ve ever seen on this court, the second of which was a one-handed backhand pass flick that led to a break point.

When Pegula saved that point, it felt like an important battle was won.

So did the American’s next service game, which she won at the sixth attempt after a series of thrilling exchanges. The crowd was in full swing, cheering as Pegula took the deciding game, while Muchova even demonstrated her artistic frustration by hurling her racket high into the New York night sky and catching it like a circus performer.

Two weary mistakes from Muchova, one a missed overhead and the other a slice, that had been the hallmark of her thrilling first set, signaled the beginning of the end. At 0-40, Muchova won a point on a second serve, but another slice missed and Pegula’s arms were raised.

After smashing his personal best in the quarterfinals on Wednesday night, he has a chance to make history on Saturday.

(Top photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images)