American Jessica Pegula falls to top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in US Open semifinal

The current World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka moved one step closer to a third consecutive U.S. Open title Thursday, defeating third-ranked Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the women’s singles semifinal in New York. The match was even through most of the first set, but Sabalenka found another gear late, taking advantage of Pegula’s second serve and carrying that momentum into the second set. She turned the final set into arguably her most impressive stretch of tennis in the tournament. "No complaints," the 28-year-old Belarusian tennis star said after securing a spot in Saturday's final. "I’m just super happy that I was able to pull out such tennis." ARYNA SABALENKA FIRES BACK AT REPORTER FOR ASKING QUESTION ABOUT PARTYING AFTER US OPEN VICTORY Sabalenka will face the winner of the semifinal between No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina and No. 4 seed Coco Gauff on Saturday.