Aryna Sabalenka showed major respect for Jessica Pegula after surviving a tough WTA Finals encounter as the world No. 1 acknowledged that the American "always pushes me to the limit."
On Tuesday, Sabalenka and Pegula met for the third time in the last two months. And once again, their clash went to a deciding third set. In the US Open semifinal, the Belarusian recovered from a set down to win 4-6 6-3 6-4. Three weeks ago, the American got her revenge by mounting a big comeback to win their Wuhan semifinal battle 2-6 6-4 7-6 (2).
In Riyadh, it was Sabalenka who made the better start and took the opening set. However, Pegula refused to quit as the world No. 1 won the second set and also collected an early third-set break for a 2-1 lead. But the Belarusian didn't allow the American to pull off another comeback against her, storming back in the third set to complete a 6-4 2-6 6-3 win and improve to 2-0 at the WTA Finals.
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Sabalenka: Pegula always pushes me to the limit
She always pushes me to the limit. In the second set, I felt like she stepped in and played incredible tennis. In the third set, I was thinking, 'OK, Im going to go after my shots, Im going to stay even more aggressive and put all that speed back on her and hope Ill get my chance.' And yeah, again she pushed me and I love it. I love playing against her because its never an easy match. It's always great tennis, great level, great points and Im super happy with the win," the world No. 1 admitted.
Sabalenka now leads the head-to-head against the American 9-3.
On Thursday, Sabalenka will take on Coco Gauff in her WTA Finals group-stage finale, while Pegula meets Jasmine Paolini. The Belarusian leads the Stefanie Graf group with a 2-0 record while the American stands at 1-1.
