Sabalenka storms past Pegula, closes in on historic US Open three-peat

Aryna Sabalenka is one win away from a historic U.S. Open hat-trick after the top seed powered past Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinal on Thursday night.For much of the opening set, there was little to separate the two players. But once Sabalenka found her opening, the match changed dramatically. She began attacking Pegula's second serve with greater aggression and carried that momentum into a dominant second set, producing some of her best tennis of the tournament.“No complaints,” Sabalenka said. “I’m just super happy that I was able to pull out such tennis.”The Belarusian will play either No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina or No. 4 Coco Gauff in Saturday's final. A victory would make Sabalenka the first player since Serena Williams in 2012-14 to win three consecutive U.S. Open titles.Sabalenka is also set to surrender the No.