Jessica Pegula gets Aryna Sabalenka reunion after finding a way past Emma Navarro

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Sabalenka[/a] beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pegula-jessica/KdojxrAR/"]Pegula[/a] in the 2024 final in Flushing Meadows and beat her again in the semis last year on the way to a second crown.[/p][p]Third-seeded Pegula [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/navarro-e-WxLdKcAs/pegula-j-KdojxrAR/?mid=QZMjBj06"]needed two hours and 20 minutes[/a] to get past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/navarro-emma/WxLdKcAs/"]Navarro[/a], recovering an early break in the third set of a tense baseline battle on Arthur Ashe Stadium.[/p][p]"[b]It was really tough,[/b]" Pegula said after a match featuring nine breaks of serve. "[b]It was physical, humid. I wasn't exactly serving my best and I was fighting a lot of demons out there today.[/b]"[/p][image alt="Match stats: Pegula vs Navarro" id="dbe029ce-a7e9-4632-9343-e90db3bdf9ea" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="6a57938c-42d8-4e85-bf65-74706e159c44" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Pegula improved to 5-0 against Navarro, a former world number eight who is on the rise after an extended break to focus on health issues, winning her first title in more than a year at Strasbourg in May.[/p][p]Pegula, who has won two titles this year, is among the trio of players who arrived at Flushing Meadows with a chance to supplant Sabalenka atop the world rankings in New York.[/p][p]The 32-year-old would have to go all the way to a first major title to have a shot at claiming the top spot.[/p][embed guid="c9396585-9a30-4a6f-b2f8-c23daf6e4aff" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beax9TP-Dlk" social-type="youtube" /][p]But the number one issue could be moot by the time Pegula and Sabalenka square off on Thursday.[/p][p]Second-ranked [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rybakina-elena/UDzElXdm/"]Elena Rybakina[/a] can seize the top spot regardless of other results with a win over China's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zheng-qinwen/xCyEhjAS/"]Zheng Qinwen[/a] in their quarter-final on Wednesday.[/p]