MASON, Ohio -- Aryna Sabalenka won her first title since the Australian Open in January, beating Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5 in the Cincinnati Open on Monday.
Sabalenka, who moved up a spot to No. 2 in the rankings before the match, didn't lose a set en route to her 15th WTA title. She had never gotten past the semifinals at Cincinnati, losing three times in that round.
Sabalenka, 26, dropped only nine points on serve and hit 10 aces as she overcame some jitters late in the second set in an otherwise confident performance to pick up her sixth WTA 1000 title.
Pegula had appeared to be in good form after she retained her title in Toronto earlier this month but she struggled with her serve, with five double faults.
Sabalenka got the break in the fourth game after Pegula whacked a forehand into the net and the Belarusian built on the momentum with a hold to love in the fifth, closing out the first set with an unreturnable serve.
She sent over a barrage of powerful forehands to get another break in the opening game of the second set but helped Pegula to get her lone break point with a double fault and a pair of unforced errors in the 10th game.
Sabalenka broke back immediately, however, and blew kisses to the crowd after she forced her opponent into an error on match point.
The sixth-ranked Pegula had a challenging road to the final. After defending her title at Toronto, the American played two matches on Friday because of weather-related postponements and had three matches go three sets. Her time on the court exceeded Sabalenka's by more than two hours entering the final.
Sabalenka can now be considered a favorite at the US Open, which begins on Aug. 26 in New York. The Belarusian missed Wimbledon with a shoulder injury, then returned to the tour at Washington two weeks ago.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.
