Jessica Pegula fights back to clinch place in first grand slam final

Jessica Pegula staged an impressive comeback to reach her first career grand slam final at the US Open.

The American, seeded sixth, looked to be heading out as Karolina Muchova won seven games in a row to lead by a set and a break in their semi-final on Arthur Ashe Court.

But she rallied in superb style to claim a 1-6 6-4 6-2 victory to keep home hopes alive of a second successive American winner in New York.

Pegula is aiming to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner Coco Gauff, but will have to do it the hard way as she plays heavy favourite Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s final.

It is a shot at a first grand slam title for a player who had previously lost her last six quarter-finals on the biggest stage.

As well as Pegula played in her comeback, it was also a collapse by Muchova, who was playing just a sixth tournament since nine months out following wrist surgery.

Muchova will leave the tournament thinking about a key point at 0-2 in the second set, where she missed a routine volley at break point to go 3-0 up.

It went long and Pegula went on to win 12 of the next 16 games as Muchova, who had to leave the court four times during Wednesday’s quarter-final due to a stomach bug, ran out of steam.

When the dust settles, Muchova will be proud of her effort, having not played from her semi-final defeat at Flushing Meadows last year until a Wimbledon warm-up event in June.

“It comes down to really small moments that flip momentum, I came out really flat, she was playing unbelievable, she mae me look like a beginner,” Pegula said.

“I wanted to burst into tears, it was embarrassing. She was destroying me, I was able to find a way, get some adrenalin and find my legs and then I started to play how I wanted to play.

“It took a while but I don’t know how I turned that around.”