In Pegula’s semifinal win over Alexandra Eala, the American was broken five times. That’s troubling for a player that has always left a little to be desired as a server. Pegula just doesn’t rack up holds the way you’d like to see for an elite player, and there were several instances on Thursday in which she was just rolling serves into the box.
That won’t fly against a player with Sabalenka’s power. This season, Sabalenka has a break percentage of 42.2%. That’s absurdly high, and it makes sense considering her ability to tee off from both wings. With that in mind, if Pegula doesn’t have a stellar serving day, this match could get out of hand.
Sabalenka’s serving hasn’t been completely flawless in Miami over the last two weeks. Her match against Qinwen Zheng turned into a bit of a breakfest. But everything stabilized against Jasmine Paolini in the semifinals. And even if Sabalenka does cough up some service games, she has shown a unique ability to get them right back.
