Aryna Sabalenka sweeps aside Jessica Pegula for maiden Miami Open title - and says she will celebrate with tequila

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Aryna Sabalenka lifted her first Miami Open title as she defeated Jessica Pegula in straight sets on Hard Rock Stadium, 7-5 6-2. The world No. 1 beat the American home favourite in just under an hour and a half in Florida, where greying conditions and rain clouds threatened, with a swirling wind causing seven total breaks of serve in the first set.

Aryna Sabalenka

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Aryna Sabalenka won her maiden Miami Open title as she swept past home favourite Jessica Pegula in straight sets on Hard Rock Stadium.
The world No. 1 came through 7-5 6-2 in just shy of 90 minutes in Florida, and the win extended her lead at the top of the WTA rankings as the players head towards the year’s second Grand Slam, the French Open at Roland-Garros, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Sabalenka hit a purple patch upon her arrival in Miami, not dropping a single set en route to the title, seeming to have put her shock defeat by teenager Mirra Andreeva in the final of Indian Wells firmly behind her.

Here, the Belarusian was in cruise control - particularly in the second set - as she hit a total of 31 winners to her opponent’s 12, as well as breaking Pegula seven times.

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The first set was tense, with greying conditions and a swirling wind causing issues for the server, with seven breaks of serve shared between the pair in the opening set.

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It was Pegula who was to blink first, going down 2-0 in her first service game, and things seemed ominous for the American, who was broken to love by her big-hitting opponent.

However, Pegula, the world No. 4, showed great fight to bite back immediately, converting her second break point to nullify the break advantage, before edging her nose in front with another break at 3-2.

They continued to trade breaks as neither could find much rhythm in the testing conditions, but it was Sabalenka who was able to show her poise and composure in the pivotal moments, holding her serve to love at 6-5 before breaking Pegula to love to snare first blood.

The second set started in a similar vein - hard-fought games - before Sabalenka snapped that sequence with a breach of the Pegula serve to go up 3-1 at the fourth time of asking.

From there, she raced to the title, with a blistering backhand too much for the approaching Pegula to parry back, as the ball spun into the stands and Sabalenka raised her arms to the air in celebration.

Sabalenka joked that she would "definitely" celebrate her title with tequila.

"I'm speechless," Sabalenka told Sky Sports.

"My last couple of finals were really tough, tight, and close ones for me, so going into this one, I was just so focused on myself. I was super focused, and I was playing point by point. Now it feels super special. I'm super happy with the title. The first one in Miami.

"The conditions were tough for both of us, and she was breaking my serve quite a lot. Back and forth the whole match, and I'm super happy that I was there, I was fighting no matter what, and even after each game she broke, I was fighting back and I was dragging her back.

"We are working a lot on the variety of the game, I think, especially mixing up the heights. In the first set, she was playing super quick, super deep, super flat. It was almost impossible to go for those shots and then, in the second set, I gave myself a little advantage at the beginning, so I could play a little bit and bring this variety. I'm happy it worked.

"Definitely tequila [to celebrate].  We’re going to keep it private; tequila at home, but maybe my team will tell me, you know what? Go have fun."

The three-time Grand Slam champion was apologetic to Pegula in her acceptance speech, and with the players avoiding the looming Florida rain, she jested that Miami was "crying" because she had won.

"First of all, Jess, I'm so sorry, for real," she said.

"If I could share the trophy, prize money, points, everything, I would definitely share it with you. You're an incredible player. You always push me so hard to play my best. You're a great player. It’s always a great battle, great level of tennis [when we play] and continue what you’re doing, and I'm pretty sure we'll play many more finals. I'm not sure about the result, [however], because I just don't want to lose in the final. It sucks.

"It felt like Miami was crying that I won this tournament, so I'm glad it's not raining, so I can talk a little bit."

Pegula, who was beaten by Sabalenka in the US Open final last year, bemoaned her record in finals against the top seed.

"Three finals, I really don't want to like you right now, but you're the best player in the world for a reason," she said.

"You keep pushing everybody and challenging everybody to get better. You’ve had a great tournament. At Indian Wells too. The last month of tennis you've been able to play is amazing."

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