Aryna sounds early warning

Cincinnati Aryna Sabalenka (above) thrust herself into US Open title contention on Monday with a 6-3, 7-5 defeat of Jessica Pegula to win the WTA Cincinnati Open.

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The third seed who missed Wimbledon with a shoulder injury won a trophy for the first time since collecting her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

Sabalenka had it all her way against the American sixth seed until the closing stages when she lost serve for the first time leading a set and 5-4But a quick re-break and another hold of serve solved that problem and produced a first Masters-level trophy on hardcourt since 2021 for the Belarus player.

"I really couldn't have wished for more it was a really great day at the office," Sabalenka said afterwards.