NEW YORK — Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka was simply too good for Jessica Pegula yet again, winning their U.S. Open semifinal 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday night in a rematch of last year's final .

The No. 1-seeded Sabalenka moved one victory away from becoming the first woman to claim consecutive championships at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams got three in a row from 2012 to 2014.

On Saturday, Sabalenka will meet No. 8 Amanda Anisimova or No. 23 Naomi Osaka for the trophy .

This matchup was quite close, far closer than the straight-set triumph for Sabalenka over Pegula 12 months ago that gave the 27-year-old from Belarus her third Grand Slam title, all on hard courts .

Since then, Sabalenka was the runner-up to Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January and to Coc

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