Sabalenka to meet Pegula in Miami Open final

Saturday’s Miami Open women’s final is set with No. 3 Jessica Pegula facing top seed Aryna Sabalenka. It is also a rematch of the 2024 U.S. Open final, won by Sabalenka.

In the women’s semifinal staged late Thursday, Pegula had to be spectacularly resilient to stop the history-making run of the 19-year-old lefty from the Philippines, Alexandra Eala.

Pegula won in a rollercoaster 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-3 victory in a contest that ended at 12:40 a.m. Friday.

In the two hour, 26 minute match, Eala showed she is a crafty lefty star in the making with drop shots, deft volleys and a big forehand.

The Hard Rock Stadium fans rooted on the player who had taken out major champions Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek previously.

Pegula fought off a set point in the first set. She was twice down a break in the first set forced a tiebreaker and dominated it.

Eala had played forcefully through most of the first set, moving Pegula around and coming to the net at advantageous times to showcase her volley.

But suddenly it turned. Eala served for the first set at 5-3, but at set point, she registered two straight double faults, then made an unforced error on her forehand. She lost eight straight points as Pegula seized control.

In the second set, Eala took a spill and needed a medical timeout to wrap her ankle, trailing 2-1.

Eala, who upset Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals, roared back and got up a break 4-3. Pegula came back and Eala was two points away from losing the match at 5-4 before she hit another high gear to pull out the set.

Eala’s service speed had dropped to the 70’s in the second set — which seemed to frustrate Pegula.

In the first women’s semifinal, Sabalenka routed sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2 in 71 minutes.

Paolini, the 2024 French Open finalist, spent some of the afternoon smirking at Sabalenka’s deft shot-making.

The Belarusian hasn’t dropped a set so far. “I think I was so focused and everything went smoothly,’’ Sabalenka said.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis