Jessica Pegula congratulates Aryna Sabalenka in US Open semi-final success

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pegula-jessica/KdojxrAR/"]Pegula[/a] went toe-to-toe with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Sabalenka[/a] early on at Arthur ‌Ashe Stadium but once the Belarusian found her groove [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/pegula-j-KdojxrAR/sabalenka-a-vyhksgUB/?mid=4zyfwf9s"]there was ‌little she could do to stem the tide.[/a][/p][p]"[b]She played ‌insane. She played a super-high level,[/b]" said Pegula, whose win over Sabalenka on grass in June had included a 6-0 third set.[/p][p]"[b]Maybe that's ‌why she was so pissed off at me,[/b]" ⁠she said with a ‌smile.[/p][p]Sabalenka's win sent her into a fourth straight U.S. Open final and ​an eighth consecutive hard-court Grand Slam decider, an Open Era record, stretching back to the 2023 Australian ​Open.[/p][p]The defeat leaves Pegula still searching for a first major title. She is the only one of the four semi-finalists ⁠yet to win a ​Grand Slam.[/p][image alt="Match stats: Sabalenka vs Pegula" id="16b64dba-6a96-43fd-942f-dd7ddac2d488" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="70fe72a6-7fd2-41c6-83ce-cd743bc4f8f6" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Having lost to Sabalenka at the U.S. Open three years running, Pegula joked that she and her team had even asked Sabalenka's camp not to go so hard on them.[/p][p]"[b]We're, like, ‌do you like us? Like, we're good people. We're pretty nice to you guys. Do you think that maybe, like, one day she could be maybe off a little bit, so I could just, like, get a chance?[/b]" she said.[/p][p]With Sabalenka in such devastating form Pegula said there was little she could have done to get a different result.[/p][p]"[b]I'm honestly not that upset, to be honest, because I don't really ‌think there was much I could have done today[/b]," the ​32-year-old said. "[b]I did my best. I thought I didn't ‌play bad.[/b]"[/p][p]Sabalenka, who will surrender the world number one ranking to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rybakina-elena/UDzElXdm/"]Elena Rybakina[/a] on Monday, hit 29 winners, seven aces and consistently found the lines whenever the American looked to seize control.[/p][p]"[b]I honestly don't know if she missed ⁠a backhand the entire match,[/b]" ⁠said Pegula. "[b]I really want ‌to check.[/b]"[/p]