After dropping to Gauff in final yr’s closing, a tearful Sabalenka admitted she had struggled to cope with the group, later saying the noise was so loud it “blocked my ears”.
The ambiance was no totally different this time round, with Pegula receiving nearly all of the help from the packed 23,000-seater stadium.
There have been instances when Sabalenka appeared just like the event would once more get the higher of her as she hit 34 unforced errors and 5 double faults.
As soon as the kind of participant who didn’t maintain her feelings in verify, she has taken lively steps to strengthen her mentality, together with working with a psychologist, to grow to be probably the most constant opponents on the WTA Tour.
With accidents disrupting her season – she struggled with a abdomen drawback on the French Open earlier than a shoulder situation dominated her out of Wimbledon – Sabalenka has obtained again on monitor with successive titles after beating Pegula within the closing of final month’s Cincinnati Open.
“I want she would have not less than let me get one set. We had a troublesome match in Cincinnati just a few weeks in the past and he or she’s top-of-the-line on the earth,” Pegula mentioned.
“She’s tremendous highly effective and is not going to provide you something, she will be able to take the racquet out of your hand.”
Sabalenka’s victory in New York sees her grow to be the primary participant to win each hard-court Slams in the identical yr since Angelique Kerber in 2016.