US Open final: A battle of top rankers past and present | Tennis News

Mumbai: Earlier this week, Aryna Sabalenka was engaged in a colossal battle for a spot in the semi-final of the US Open. It took her two hours and 22 minutes to get the draining win over Linda Noskova. But a day later, it became clear that despite the win, she would be losing something dear and precious to her.Her world No.1 rank.At the other end of the women’s singles draw, Elena Rybakina had secured her spot in the semi-final to ensure that on Monday, when the rankings are updated, she would become the highest ranked player in the WTA charts for the first time.But there was another dangling carrot in front of the hard-hitting Sabalenka. She was getting close to becoming the first player since Serena Williams (in 2014) to complete a hat-trick of US Open titles.On Thursday night, at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Sabalenka put in a blistering display as she brushed aside Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 to book her spot in the final in New York.A few hours later, Rybakina took the scenic route against Coco Gauff. Despite an error-ridden match, the Kazakh beat the fourth seed 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to earn her spot in the final.The year began with Sabalenka and Rybakina battling it out for the title of the season’s first Grand Slam, at the Australian Open. The year will now end with the same players vying for the final major of the year – after getting to the finals in contrasting fashion.And this will be the first time in 13 years that the top two seeds have reached the US Open final.Sabalenka’s statement win“I don’t know who pissed her off today,” Jessica Pegula, the third seed, said during her post-match press conference after losing to Sabalenka. “That’s definitely the best match she’s played this year.”Sabalenka came out all guns blazing, as she usually does, but this time there something else stoking the fire. “I was super desperate. I lost a tough match on grass against Jess, and I wasn’t really performing well in the middle part of the season,” Sabalenka said after the match.“It kind of feels like for me, talking about Grand Slams, like a last push for the season. I wanted badly to go to the final, and of course I want to go all the way. The mentality was just, ‘I’m ready. I’m ready for whatever it’s going to take to get the win.’”The world No.1 had a solid start to the year, winning 11 matches on the trot – a streak ended by Rybakina in the Australian Open final. Later on, Sabalenka clinched the Sunshine Double with titles at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters. Despite no reported injuries, though, there was a sudden drop in form. And with it came a danger that she could go an entire season without winning a Slam.The US Open is her last chance.Against Pegula, an opponent she beat in New York in the last two years as well, Sabalenka faced only one break point throughout the match while hitting aggressively to notch up 29 winners (to 22 unforced errors).The win also made her the first player in the Open Era to reach the final of a hard-court Grand Slam (Australian Open and US Open) eight consecutive times, surpassing Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis and Novak Djokovic’s tally of seven. And after Evnonne Goolagong Cawley, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Williams, she is now the fifth woman to reach at least four straight US Open finals.For a fifth Grand Slam title, she will play Rybakina who had a difficult day in the office.Gritty RybakinaAfter four straight-sets wins to begin her campaign, the second seed was taken the distance in the quarter-final by Qinwen Zheng, and by then Gauff in the semi-final.The performance on Thursday was not the best by two-time Slam champion Rybakina, who committed 39 unforced errors to 22 winners, and was broken three times. But she did manage to problem-solve her way out of a match against the most tenacious player on the women’s tour.Both players struggled to get their first serves in, but Rybakina’s firepower started to propel her, particularly in the third set, as she found the deciding break while Gauff served to stay in the match at 4-5.She knows though, that she will have to put on a better show against Sabalenka.“I definitely need to step my game up, serve much better than today, stay aggressive, go for the shots,” she said on-court. “When you get an opportunity, you need to go for your shots, especially with Aryna.”In many ways, it is fitting that it is Sabalenka and Rybakina in the final of the year’s final Slam. On one end, there is a player who is searching for history in Sabalenka. Her opponent is one who has already created it, as the first Kazakh to become world No.1.This latest installment between the fire and ice in women’s tennis will be an intriguing clash.