Aryna Sabalenka masters Jessica Pegula again to win Miami Open

A local favorite was going to win the Miami Open no matter the result between Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula inside Hard Rock Stadium on Satuday, and after 89 comprehensive minutes, it was the world No. 1 who lifted the much sought-after WTA 1000 crown.

With a 7-5, 6-2 win over No. 4 seed Pegula, Miami resident Sabalenka captured her eighth career WTA 1000 title, and became the 12th top-ranked player to win the tournament all-time. She has now beaten Pegula in three straight finals, topping the American to win both Cincinnati and the US Open last summer, and run her record against the U.S. No. 2 to 7-2.

In a commanding performance off the ground, Sabalenka hammered 31 winners in victory, nearly three times Pegula's total of 12, to take the winner's trophy after losing in the final at both the Australian Open and BNP Paribas Open.

"I felt all the support throughout this week. This trophy is a very special trophy. If I would lose today, it would be so tough to come back home and stay there, because I have been say saying throughout the tournament and everything would remind me about Miami Open, so I'm super happy to come back home as the champion of the tournament," Sabalenka told reporters after the match.

"I'll just have a good vibes only for the next couple of weeks of preparation for the clay courts. It's super special."

The end of the first set was a microcosm of the match, as the world No. 1 hit three winners in a row to arrive at triple set point, and another forehand that Pegula couldn't handle gave Sabalenka the set.

"Honestly going into this match, I had the mentality that no matter what happens, if she's gonna break me, I had the mentality to stay there, to focus on myself, to fight for every point no matter what," Sabalenka said. "I didn't want to lose another final, to be honest. It's really tough to lose in the final. So if someone would say that, I'd be, like, okay, it's going to be a battle, I'm ready for that.

"That [6-5] game, what was that honestly, it was just another level. I'm super happy that I was able to put everything together and to bring the variety in that game. It was very important game."

In set two, the 2-1 game proved the most critical. Pegula fought back from 0-40 down to deuce, but back-to-back forehand winners gave the top seed another break.

The win against Pegula gave Sabalenka a hat trick of Top 10 wins at the tournament, the first time she's recorded that many en route to a title. She previously defeated Zheng Qinwen and Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals and semifinals, and did not lose a set in six matches.

As she remains in the top spot in the WTA rankings, Sabalenka will also rise to No. 1 on the WTA's Race to the WTA Finals leaderboard by virtue of winning the final, supplanting Australian Open champion Madison Keys.