Calmer Aryna Sabalenka battles her way to Miami Open title

World No1 defeats Jessica Pegula and reveals she has become mentally stronger

Aryna Sabalenka with teh Miami Open trophy after defeating Jessica Peegula in the final at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida. AFP

Aryna Sabalenka recorded 31 winners to secure a 7-5, 6-2 win over Jessica Pegula and lift the Miami Open title for the first time in her career.

World No1 Sabalenka saved seven of 11 break points while winning her 19th career title and eighth at the 1000 level.

American world No4 Pegula won three straight games in the opening set to take a 3-2 lead. But Sabalenka won the next three games en route to winning the set.

Pegula won the opener of the second set before Sabalenka won four straight games to take control, closing out in 88 minutes.

Sabalenka credited her consistent form this season on mastering the temper which once plagued her performances.

The Belarusian added Miami to the title she won at Brisbane.

She also featured in the finals at the Australian Open and Indian Wells but showed her increasing maturity by handling a roller-coaster first set where she was broken three times by Pegula.

In the past, Sabalenka would react to a break of serve or moments of frustration with anger.

But there was no sign of such issues against Pegula, and she said that was a result of focusing on the bigger picture.

"I struggled a lot in the past with a lot of different things, I went through really tough challenges, and I was struggling with my serve so much," said the 26-year-old.

"I couldn't serve for a while, so I had to play without the serve, and I think that was the moment when I realised that I actually have another weapons in my game, so I can actually win the match even if my serve is not working," she said.

There was also a conscious decision to cut out the antics when facing difficult moments.

"One day, I just decided, OK, whatever happens on the court, I'm not gonna show my emotions. I went through a lot, and there is much more difficult stuff in life than just any smash, so I was like, OK, whatever happens, I'm not gonna show any emotions. I'm done with that," she said.

"I don't wanna be that person who's like, keeps getting frustrated and losing the matches. And it worked really well. I think it was the first year when I won Australia Open (2023) that I just realised a lot of things, and since then.

"I'm a different person, a different player, and (stronger) in the mental part of the game. It was a huge improvement," she said.

Sabalenka said she will celebrate her victory with her team in Miami, where she resides, before turning her focus on the clay season.

Her three grand slam wins have all come on hard courts and her best performance at Roland Garros was a run to the semi-finals in 2023.

She believes that she is now in a position to make an impact on clay.

"I think physically I'm ready to go. Physically I'm strong, and I'm not rushing the point and I know I can stay in the point for how long I need," she said.

Sabalenka leads the head-to-head record against Pegula 7-2 and has won the last three meetings – all finals. Pegula sounded tired of losing to her.

"Now it feels like the last year Aryna has, especially on the hard courts, been kind of unstoppable virtually," Pegula said. "I definitely like embracing that challenge, although I am getting a little annoyed with playing her.

"I don’t know if I would have won if I played someone else. But, man, I mean, it’s three titles."