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Jessica Pegula defeated Karolina Muchova in the semi-final of the 2024 US Open after a thrilling three-set contest. With the win, Pegula made it sure that the prospect of consecutive American women's singles victories at Flushing Meadows was kept alive, after Coco Gauff's run to the title last year.
The sixth seed lost the first set 6-1, and conceded an early break in the second set, trailing 2-0. However, with the crowd behind her, the World No. 6 regrouped, and staged a stunning comeback to win the match 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Reaching her maiden Major final, Pegula created multiple records for herself. Let us look at some of those milestones achieved by the 30-year-old.
#3. Being the oldest American woman to reach a maiden Major final
Jessica Pegula became the oldest American player to qualify for her maiden Major Final in the Open Era. At 30 years and 193 days, the World No. 6 finally had a breakthrough moment at the 2024 US Open.
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Before this event, Jessica Pegula could not pass the quarter-final stage of a Major, having lost six matches across all four Grand Slams. She lost to the likes of Jennifer Brady, Ashleigh Barty, Victoria Azarenka, and Iga Swiatek.
This time around, Pegula faced off against Swiatek in the quarterfinal, pulling off a stunning victory in straight sets, to reach her maiden Major semifinal.
#2 Jessica Pegula becomes only the fourth female player to reach all three finals in the North American hard-court swing in the Open Era.
The North American hard-court phase on the WTA calendar is marked by the Canadian Open, Cincinnati Open, and culminating towards the US Open. Rosemary Casals, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, and Serena Williams are the only three women to reach the finals of the three events mentioned above in a single season.
Casals could not win any of the three finals in 1970 while Goolagomg won the titles in Cincinnati and Canada in 1973, defeating Chris Evert and Helga Masthoff in the respective final. However, she lost the US Open final to Margaret Court.
In 2013, Serena Williams won the title in Canada, defeating Sorana Cirstea in the final. She lost to Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Cincinnati Open but defeated the Belarusian in the US Open final.
Jessica Pegula has been in exceptional form in the North American phase this year. She successfully defeated her title at the Canadian Open, defeating Amanda Anisimova in the final. The American then reached the final in Cincinnati before losing to Aryna Sabalenka, who she will face in the US Open title clash.
#1. The third woman in the Open era to win a US Open SF after losing the first set 1-6
In the history of the Open Era, only two women before Jessica Pegula won a US Open semifinal after dropping the first set by a margin of 1-6. In 2004, Svetlana Kuznetsova came back from a set down to win the semi-final against Lindsay Davenport in 2004. The Russian then beat compatriot Elena Dementievawon the title, defeating Elena Demenntieva in the final.
The other woman to achieve this feat was Victoria Azarenka, who in 2020 recovered from losing the first set 6-1, against Serena Williams in the semi-final of the US Open. However, she lost the final against Naomi Osaka, despite winning the first set 6-1.
