Day 13 of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York featured the women's singles final and the men's doubles final.
Sabalenka wins hard fought final
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in the U.S. Open women's final to win her first championship at Flushing Meadows and second Grand Slam title of the year. The victory on Saturday allowed the second-seeded Sabalenka to add to the trophy she earned at the Australian Open in January. Sabalenka is a 26-year-old from Belarus who was the runner-up to Coco Gauff at last year's U.S. Open. The sixth-seeded Pegula is from New York and was participating in a major final for the first time at age 30. Pegula has won 15 of her past 17 matches over the past month but both losses came against Sabalenka, including in the final of the Cincinnati Open.
Men's doubles champions crowned
Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson won the U.S. Open men's doubles championship Saturday, bouncing back from heartbreak at Wimbledon to capture their first Grand Slam title together. The No. 7-seeded Australians beat the 10th-seeded German team of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-4, 7-6 (4) to open play at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the women's singles final was to follow. Purcell and Thompson held three match points in July at the All England Club, but Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten rallied to edge them 6-7 (7), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (11-9).
(For Day 12 results click here.)
Day 13 women's singles final result
Aryna Sabalenka (2), Belarus, def. Jessica Pegula (6), United States, 7-5, 7-5.
Day 13 men's doubles final result
Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell (7), Australia, def. Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz (10), Germany, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
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Who are the betting favorites for the US Open?
Sabalenka came into the tournament as the favorite to win the U.S. Open and goes into the final the same way, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. She is at -300 against Pegula, who is listed at +250. Sabalenka is -250 to win the first set, as she did last year against Gauff. Pegula is +175 to have the lead after a set. As for how long the match might go, two sets is listed at -225, with three sets at +155. In the men's final, top-ranked Jannik Sinner is a -300 money-line favorite against No. 12 seed Taylor Fritz, who is +270.
What happened Friday at the U.S. Open?
Fritz pulled out a 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 20 Frances Tiafoe in the first Grand Slam semifinal between two American men since 2005. It was the second time in three years that Tiafoe lost in the U.S. Open semis. Sinner beat No. 25 Jack Draper 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 in a match that featured simultaneous treatment of both competitors by trainers deep in the 1 1/2-hour second set. Also, Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko won the women's doubles title for their first major as a team, beating Kristina Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-3.
What is the US Open schedule for the rest of the tournament?
—Sunday, Sept. 8: Men’s Final
What does the current bracket look like?
For live updates and latest bracket results, visit USOpen.org.
Key stats at the U.S. Open
5 — Number of women's players in the Open era to win both hard-court Grand Slam titles in the same year, after Sabalenka joined Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis and Angelique Kerber.
15-2 — Pegula's final record on the North American hard-court swing; both losses were in finals against Sabalenka.
What was said at the U.S. Open?
“If you’re really working hard and you’re sacrificing everything for a dream, you’re going to get it one day." — Sabalenka, during her interview on the court after the final.
“There was definitely a couple of moments where I tried to not rush and kind of stop myself a little bit and be able to appreciate that crowd noise, because it was definitely super, super loud." — Pegula, on the women's final in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I think I’m going back to school on Tuesday.” — Mika Stojsavljevic, when the 15-year-old from Britain was asked her plans after winning the U.S. Open junior girls' singles title.
