Pegula beats – Aryna Sabalenka lost her deciding-set again as Jessica Pegula surged past the world number one 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-0 to reach the Berlin Open final. Pegula will face Linda Noskova after the Czech beat Alexandra Eala 6-2 6-4.
For Aryna Sabalenka, the Berlin Open didn’t just end—it slipped away in the third set.
The world number one lost another deciding set without managing to win a game. beaten by Jessica Pegula with a ruthless finish of 6-0 after Pegula recovered from a tight second-set loss. The final score read 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-0. a swing that left Sabalenka looking unsettled for long stretches against Pegula’s steady pressure.
Pegula. the American. carried a message she has repeated often across her meetings with Sabalenka: this time. her game translated at the right moments. She had lost five of her past six matches against the Belarusian world number one. but flat shots and a superb return of serve anchored her when the match tightened.
Sabalenka’s frustration was familiar. This was another disappointing deciding-set performance for her. coming after a painful memory at the French Open quarter-final when she lost a third set 6-0 after squandering a set and double break lead. In Berlin. she didn’t win a game in the decider again—an outcome that turns small problems into full momentum shifts.
The match had its own weather system. Pegula fought back from 5-2 down in the second set to force a tie-break. and once play reached that extended moment. she led 3-1 before rain delayed play for an hour. When they returned. Sabalenka briefly found something sharper—she won six of the next seven points to force a deciding set.
Then the script flipped. Pegula dominated the top seed, and the final set became a statement: Sabalenka won none of the games, while Pegula carried her rhythm all the way to the final.
“It’s the hard way,” Pegula said after the win. “She came out and ripped a bunch of winners and I told myself ‘I guess I wanted to win in the hard way anyway’.”
The 32-year-old added that she doesn’t try to manufacture emotions to match the moment. “I don’t get super emotional. People used to tell me when I was younger that I need to yell more and jump up and down. Honestly, it feels like a waste of energy to me. I just try to be myself.”
Pegula will now face Linda Noskova in Sunday’s final. The Czech booked her place by beating Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 6-2 6-4, setting up a final shaped by contrasting paths—one built on survival and response, the other on momentum carried straight into the deciding rounds.
Berlin Open Aryna Sabalenka Jessica Pegula Linda Noskova Alexandra Eala tennis French Open final
6-0 in the third is wild. Tennis really is whoever has the vibes that day.
So Pegula beat the world number one… but like why was Sabalenka losing games in the decider again? I swear this happens every tournament. Maybe she just panics when it’s tied?
No games in the third set means Sabalenka got injured or something, right? Like I feel like 6-0 doesn’t just happen for no reason. Also the rain delay somehow always messes someone up, I don’t make the rules.
Pegula saying she doesn’t get emotional is kinda relatable tho. But also idk Sabalenka was up and then it flipped so fast?? Like I didn’t even blink and suddenly it’s 6-0. Finals gonna be Noskova vs Pegula, so let’s see who chokes less in the last set I guess.