Round robin action rarely yields three players with winning records; the most famous example occurred in 2009 when Juan Martin del Potro sat on court after defeating Andy Murray, waiting to hear if he had indeed qualified for the semifinals in London.
But that was among the possible permutations coming into Friday—one that felt exceedingly plausible given 1) Sabalenka was up against slumping Jessica Pegula, and 2) Jabeur held a slight head-to-head edge against an ostensibly demotivated opponent who had already won the Nancy Richey Group regardless of today’s result.
Their most recent encounter came in Rome, when Sakkari failed to convert a 6-1, 5-2 lead and fell to the eventual world No. 2 in three sets.
To maximize her shot of reaching the semis, it wasn’t enough for Sabalenka to simply beat Pegula; she had to do it in straight sets.
“I said to my team that I would prefer play second match to 100% know what I have to do to get through,” sighed Sabalenka, who said she was spoiled on advancement scenarios during a newsfeed interview. “I was thinking about, that no matter what happens, just win another match, finish the season with the win. Just do it for the future.”
Looking ahead somehow grounded her in the present. Sabalenka quickly moved ahead in both sets only for her recently-reworked serve to buckle each time she tried serving it out. The pro-American crowd eagerly cheers Pegula on in the hopes of seeing a final set—including one fan that especially irked Sabalenka.
“He was just too much,” she said of her decision to call him out during the on-court interview. “He was doing it between the serves. He was super annoying.”