American Jessica Pegula will hope her excellent run of form and the backing of the boisterous home crowd can lift her to an upset win over hard-hitting Aryna Sabalenka in the U.S. Open women's final on Saturday.
Pegula, 30, is one of the best players on the WTA Tour to have never won a major and the Buffalo, New York native's run to the final is all the more impressive given the injury setbacks she suffered earlier this year.
'If you would have told me at the beginning of the year I'd be in the finals of the U.S. Open, I would have laughed so hard because that was where my head was. I was not thinking that I would be here,' she said.
'So to be able to overcome all those challenges and have a chance at the title on Saturday ... in my home country, in my home slam. It's perfect, really.'
Standing in her way is the reigning two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka, whose thunderous serve and punishing groundstrokes have overwhelmed her opponents at Flushing Meadows this year.
