After dropping to Gauff in final yr’s last, a tearful Sabalenka admitted she had struggled to take care of the gang, later saying the noise was so loud it “blocked my ears”.
The ambiance was no completely different this time round, with Pegula receiving nearly all of the assist 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 hold her feelings in verify, she has taken lively steps to strengthen her mentality, together with working with a psychologist, to turn out to be some of the constant opponents on the WTA Tour.
With accidents disrupting her season – she struggled with a abdomen downside on the French Open earlier than a shoulder subject dominated her out of Wimbledon – Sabalenka has bought again on observe with successive titles after beating Pegula within the last of final month’s Cincinnati Open.
“I want she would have not less than let me get one set. We had a tricky match in Cincinnati a couple of weeks in the past and he or she’s probably the greatest on the planet,” Pegula mentioned.
“She’s tremendous highly effective and is not going to present you something, she will take the racquet out of your hand.”
Sabalenka’s victory in New York sees her turn out to be the primary participant to win each hard-court Slams in the identical yr since Angelique Kerber in 2016.