American Jessica Pegula returns to reach first US Open final of her career with victory over Karolina Muchova

For Jessica Pegula, the road to her first Grand Slam final was not an easy one.

The 30-year-old was dominated by Karolína Muchová in the first set of the US Open semi-final on Thursday.

Muchova won the set 6-1, taking 30 of the 44 points in total and being responsible for 10 of the first 12 winners in the match. The first set lasted only 28 minutes.

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Jessica Pegula (USA) reacts after her victory over 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, who was playing in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time, was upset.

“I came out flat, but she played unbelievable. She made me look like a beginner,” Pegula said. “I was about to burst into tears because it was embarrassing. She destroyed me.”

The start of the second set was not very different from the first. Muchova was one point away from a convincing 3-0 lead, but could not convert the break point and Pegula had found some life.

That match was the start of a streak in which Pegula won nine of eleven games, winning the second set 6-4 and starting the third set 3-0.

“I was able to find a way, find some adrenaline, find my legs. And then, at the end of the second set, in 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 semifinals of the US Open Women’s Tennis Championship on Thursday, September 5, 2024 in New York City. (AP photo/Julia Nikhinson)

“I don’t know how I turned that around.”

Her turnaround came partly because Muchova began to cool down.

After going 7 for 7 at the net in the first set, she went 15 for 29 the rest of the way. After only seven unforced errors in the first set, she had 33 in the second and third.

Pegula turned things around completely and won 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. This gave Muchova a chance at her first Grand Slam title.

Pegula’s opponent in the women’s US Open final is second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, a player she knows well.

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Jessica Pegula of the United States reacts after scoring a point against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic during the semifinals of the US Open Women’s Tennis Championship on Thursday, September 5, 2024 in New York City. (AP photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Sabalenka handed Pegula her only loss in her last 16 matches when she defeated the American at the hardcourt tournament of the Cincinnati Open in August.

“Hopefully,” Pegula said, “I can get revenge here.”

Pegula’s revenge against Sabalenka will take place on Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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