Jessica Pegula’s path to her first Grand Slam final was not easy.

The 30-year-old was dominated by Karolína Muchová in the first set of the US Open semifinals on Thursday.

Muchova won the set 6-1, scoring 30 of the set’s 44 points. She was responsible for 10 of the first 12 winners of the match. The first set lasted just 28 minutes.

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Jessica Pegula (USA) reacts after defeating Karolina Muchova (CZE) on day 11 of the 2024 US Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. (Robert Deutsch-Images)

Pegula, who was playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, was unsettled.

“I was weak, but she played unbelievably. She made me look like a novice,” Pegula said. “I was about to burst into tears because it was embarrassing. She destroyed me.”

The start of the second set was not much different from the first. Muchova was just one point away from a convincing 3-0 lead, but was unable to convert a break point and Pegula had found some life.

This game started a phase in which Pegula won nine of eleven games, took the second set 6-4 and started the third set 3-0.

“I managed to find a way to find some adrenaline, to find my legs again. And then, at the end of the second set, in the third set, I started playing the way I wanted to play. It took a while,” Pegula said.

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Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic reacts after losing a point to Jessica Pegula of the United States in the women’s singles semifinals of the U.S. Open, Thursday, September 5, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

“I don’t know how I turned that around.”

One of the reasons for her turnaround was that Muchova began to cool down.

After scoring 7 of 7 points at the net in the first set, she managed 15 of 29 in the rest of the set. After only seven unforced errors in the first set, she had 33 in the second and third sets.

Pegula turned the tables against Muchova and won 1-6, 6-4 and 6-2, giving her the chance to win her first Grand Slam title.

Pegula’s opponent in the US Open women’s final is world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka, a player she knows.

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Jessica Pegula of the United States reacts after scoring a point against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in the women’s singles semifinals of the U.S. Open, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Sabalenka handed Pegula her only loss in her last 16 matches when she defeated the American on hard court at the Cincinnati Open in August.

“Hopefully,” said Pegula, “I can get some revenge out here.”

Pegula’s revenge against Sabalenka will take place on Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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