World No. 1 Sabalenka to meet home favorite Pegula in Miami Open final

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus advanced to her first WTA Miami Open final with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 6 seed Jasmina Paolini of Italy on Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium, never dropping serve while reaching her 12th career WTA 1000 final.

Sabalenka never trailed against Paolini, and the match was only tied twice – at 1-1 in each set. The 26-year-old Belarusian served six aces, broke the 29-year-old Italian's serve four times, and wrapped up the victory in 1 hour and 11 minutes to set up a meeting with No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula of the USA in Saturday's championship contest.

The three-time major champion – who lost to Mirra Andreeva in the BNP Paribas Open final – is the sixth woman in the last 20 years to reach the finals at Indian Wells and Miami in the same season.

"I definitely say that this was one of the best matches in the season so far," Sabalenka, who hit 31 winners to 12 unforced errors, said after the match. "I don't know. I was just so focused on myself, on the things I had to do today."

In the nightcap, Pegula needed 2 hours and 26 minutes to edge teenage wild card Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3 in the other semifinal.