Pegula's stunning comeback against Sabalenka sets three major records, while Djokovic refuses to discuss injuries or make excuses for his loss

From being nearly everyone’s pick to win effortlessly before the event, to both stopping at the semifinals, the journey of Sabalenka and Djokovic, this international brother-sister duo, in China is quite touching.

When Djokovic relocated to Greece this year, reports surfaced of Sabalenka visiting him during her travels there, with their joint photos being called a 'photo of the century,' fueling expectations that both would soon conquer major tournaments.

Such hopes reached their peak during this year's China season!

Djokovic competed in the Shanghai Masters, and with many top contenders either withdrawing due to injury or being eliminated early, the Serbian star became the overwhelming favorite to win, with many declaring his title victory a foregone conclusion; meanwhile, Sabalenka, skipping the China Open to appear at the Wuhan Open as last year’s defending champion, was also seen as a strong contender, especially after Swiatek’s unexpected loss to an Italian player, making it seem unlikely anyone could challenge Sabalenka for the crown.

Therefore, some boldly imagined a scenario where Djokovic and Sabalenka both won their respective tournaments in Shanghai and Wuhan, calling out to each other from afar, and departing China on the same day as champions—a truly beautiful picture.

However, the unexpected arrived sooner than anyone anticipated!

In the Wuhan Open 1000 semifinals, Sabalenka faced American wealthy heiress Pegula. Given their previous ten encounters where the Belarusian dominated with eight wins, the consensus was that Pegula stood little chance against the current world No. 1. The reasoning was that hard courts are Sabalenka’s absolute strength, and Pegula’s raw power was considered inferior, making an upset highly unlikely.

Even though Pegula lost the first set 2-6 but fought back to take the second 6-4, leveling the match, many still firmly believed the American could not unsettle Sabalenka.

Especially when Sabalenka led 5-2 in the deciding set, holding the upper hand, everyone watching live felt that even a miracle wouldn’t save Pegula at that point.

In this suffocating moment for Pegula’s supporters, with a comeback seeming nearly impossible, the American chose to save herself starting from the eighth game, winning three consecutive games in an unbelievable fashion to tie it 5-5, astonishing everyone watching. Considering this was on hard court against the hard court queen Sabalenka, her ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat was truly incredible.

Although Pegula fiercely resisted near the match’s end, refusing to concede, some believed her desperate fight was merely a way to reward the live audience and fans watching online by extending the match’s duration, ultimately still expecting her to lose. This belief was strengthened when Pegula double-faulted four times on her match point serve, allowing Sabalenka to push the decider into a tiebreak.

When everyone thought Pegula was doomed in the tiebreak, the American displayed extraordinary resilience and tenacity, ultimately prevailing. At that moment, the live audience fell silent, then unanimously applauded Pegula, amazed by her miraculous comeback from 2-5 down to overturn Sabalenka.

Pegula’s defeat of Sabalenka, the defending Wuhan Open champion, also set three records: first, ending a four-match losing streak against Sabalenka; second, halting Sabalenka’s 20-match winning streak at Wuhan, marking her first loss at this event; third, breaking the world No. 1’s 19 consecutive tiebreak wins this season.

Sabalenka left everyone with a sorrowful silhouette, while her close friend and foreign brother Djokovic’s experience at the Shanghai Masters was equally heartbreaking.

The Serbian star faced qualifier Vachier-Lagrave and was just as highly favored pre-match as Sabalenka was at Wuhan. Yet, despite the immense expectations from supporters, injury struck at a critical moment, causing Djokovic to lose in straight sets to Vachier-Lagrave, producing the biggest upset near the Shanghai Masters’ conclusion and eliminating all top ten seeds from the singles draw.

After the match, when asked about the impact of injury, although everyone knew his defeat was due to physical issues rather than lack of skill, Djokovic flatly refused to discuss his injury, not wanting to use it as an excuse for losing.

Instead, Djokovic praised Vachier-Lagrave highly, saying, “Starting from the qualifiers, this is an incredible story. I told him at the net that he’s had an amazing tournament, but more importantly, his attitude has been excellent, and his game outstanding, so today belongs to him.”(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moonlit River’s Starry Sky)