Aryna Sabalenka beats Emma Navarro and returns to the US Open final

NEW YORK — When things suddenly got very tight in the second set of Aryna Sabalenka's U.S. Open semifinal, and the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium suddenly became very loud in support of her American opponent, the 2023 finalist found herself reminiscing about last year, in the same place.

“Last year was a very difficult experience. A very hard lesson. Today, during the match, I was like, ‘No, no, no, Aryna. This won’t happen again. You have to control your emotions. You have to focus on yourself,’” Sabalenka said. “There were people supporting me, I was trying to focus on them. I was like, ‘Come on, there are so many people supporting you. There’s your team in the box. There’s your family. Just focus on yourself and try not to try, fight for it.’”

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, advanced to her second straight final at Flushing Meadows with a strong start and a late surge, winning the last seven points to beat Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6 (2) on Thursday night with her usual high-risk, high-reward style of tennis.

Sabalenka, a 26-year-old Belarusian who has won each of the last two Australian Opens, fell one win short of the title in New York a year ago when she lost to Coco Gauff in front of a raucous, partisan crowd.

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This time, against another American, the No. 13-seeded Navarro, Sabalenka didn't let the fans play a big role until things got interesting late in the match. Before long, thousands of ticket holders were cheering Sabalenka on for her latest display of hard-court mastery.

“Well, guys, now you're cheering for me,” Sabalenka said with a laugh during her on-court interview after the match ended. “Well, it's a little too late.”

Sabalenka joked after her previous match that she would try to win the crowd over to her side by buying alcohol.

Navarro didn't give up in the second set, despite trailing for much of the set, and as the buzz around her grew, she broke when Sabalenka tried to serve for the win at 5-4.

“I wasn't ready for the game to end,” Navarro said.

But in the ensuing tie-break, Sabalenka took over after Navarro led 2-0, clawing back every remaining point.

“I managed to get myself into it at the end of the second set,” Navarro said, “and I felt like I could really go to the third set. I just couldn't do that.”

Sabalenka will play for the trophy on Saturday against another American, No. 6 Jessica Pegula.

Navarro, who beat Gauff in the fourth round, is a 23-year-old who was born in New York, raised in South Carolina and won an NCAA singles title for the University of Virginia in 2021. It was her debut in the semifinals of a Grand Slam and, while she displayed the skill and poise that have carried her this far, Navarro was unable to keep up with Sabalenka, who was in this round of a major for the ninth time.

(2) Three def. Navarro 6-3, 7-6

Sabalenka reaches her fourth career major final, the others coming at the 2023 Australian Open, 2023 US Open, and 2023 Australian Open (all hard-court majors) Second major hard-court win since the start of 2021 (the most wins by a man or woman in that span) Won 9 of the last 11 points of the match, including the last 7 points after trailing 2-0 in the second set tiebreak. 16 winners, 11 unforced errors in the first set but 18 winners and 23 unforced errors in the second set (0 winners, 10 unforced errors on the backhand side). Navarro won 4 of 16 points on her second serve (25%), after winning 56% of points on her second serve in her first 5 games. Navarro will enter the WTA top 10 on Monday when the new rankings are released (she was No. 61 a year ago after the US Open).

— ESPN Statistics and Information

“It's crazy to have come to this tournament … and I was kind of joking with my team, but I was also kind of serious about it, I wanted to win a match at the U.S. Open, and now I'm leaving after making a run and reaching the semifinals, and now I'm a top-10 player,” said Navarro, who will enter the WTA's top 10 when the new rankings are released Monday. “It's pretty crazy, and I think it's a testament to a lot of hard work.”

Sabalenka produced 34 winners and 34 unforced errors – punctuating most of her groundstrokes with a scream – and, in fitting symmetry, Navarro had 13 winners and 13 unforced errors.

Sabalenka showed that she is not just a power player who hits with her heels, even though that is the basis of her game.

She hit a perfectly timed return winner to break and lead 4-2 early in the set. She then delivered two extremely tricky drop shots to win points later in the set. When Navarro failed to return a 100-mph serve, Sabalenka was halfway to victory.

“It’s really important – to have all the skills, all the variation in your game,” Sabalenka said, “and especially in those crucial moments when opponents are used to just one [type of] “tennis from me.”

Sabalenka has now won 35 of the 38 sets she has played at majors this season (92.1%). Among women who have played more than 30 sets at majors in a year, the last woman to win 90% of her sets at majors was Justine Henin in 2007.

Sabalenka will be playing in her fourth consecutive major hard-court final. Since the start of 2000, the only other woman to reach the final of four consecutive major hard-court tournaments is her compatriot, Victoria Azarenka.

ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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