NEW YORK >> Aryna Sabalenka left the U.S. Open in tears 12 months ago as the runner-up. She exited in the semifinals each of the two years before that. This time, Sabalenka was in a joking mood after winning her first championship at Flushing Meadows and the third Grand Slam title of her career.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, got past No. 6 Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in a rollicking final under a closed retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday, adding this triumph to the two she earned at the Australian Open each of the past two seasons, also on hard courts.

“Oh, my God. I’m speechless right now. So many times, I thought I was so close to get a U.S. Open title. It’s been a dream of mine. Finally, I got this beautiful trophy. It means a lot,” said Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, who is on a 12-match winning streak.

“I remember,” she said, “all those tough losses in the past here.”

That includes in the semifinals in both 2021, against Leylah Fernandez, and 2022, against No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

Most poignant, of course, was last year, when Sabalenka was rattled by the Ashe crowd, blew a set advantage and was defeated by Coco Gauff. Like Gauff, Pegula is an American, but the spectators were far more generous toward Sabalenka on Saturday, applauding her best efforts and even obliging when she waved her arms to ask for extra noise.

Afterward, Sabalenka thanked the fans for cheering for her — which probably (wink, wink) was unrelated to her kidding offer of “Drinks on me” after an earlier victory.

Pegula, a native New Yorker whose parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, was participating in a major final for the first time at age 30. She’s won 15 of her past 17 matches over the past month; both losses came against Sabalenka.

“I know how tough it is to lose in the final, but you’re showing some amazing tennis, and I’m more than sure that one day, you’re going to get one,” Sabalenka told Pegula during the on-court ceremony, then paused and added with a chuckle: “I mean, not (just) one. Maybe more. But let’s start from one Grand Slam.”

To Pegula’s credit, she did not fold after Sabalenka reeled off five consecutive games to grab the opening set and move ahead 3-0 in the second. In the next game, Pegula dropped a point and showed her frustration by whacking a ball off the video wall behind the baseline, dislodging a little square panel.

Maybe that released some tension, because suddenly Pegula asserted herself, using her own five-game run to go up 5-3. But when she served at 5-4 with a chance to force a third set, Pegula let Sabalenka level the second with a break.

“Was able to find some good tennis, just wasn’t quite able to sustain it,” Pegula said. “She played some big tennis in big moments.”

Indeed, that began a three-game surge for Sabalenka, who soon was collapsing to the court, dropping her racket and covering her face with both arms.

Sabalenka is as demonstrative as anyone, her body language usually a spot-on barometer of whether things are going well — or not — for her. But as she sputtered at the start Saturday, it was tough to read what she was thinking against Pegula.

Even while falling behind 2-0, then being a point from trailing 3-1, Sabalenka reacted to mistakes by calmly turning her back and taking deep breathing as star athletes from other sports such as Stephen Curry, Lewis Hamilton and Noah Lyles looked on from the stands.

Once Sabalenka got going, once her booming strokes — her forehands were the fastest of the past two weeks, speedier than any woman’s or man’s — were calibrated just so, it became apparent the outcome would be determined by what she did.

By the close, the statistics made that obvious: Sabalenka finished with far more winners than Pegula, 40-17, and also more unforced errors, 34-22. Sabalenka controlled most exchanges, with Pegula mainly stuck responding as best she could.

“She’s super powerful. Goes for her shots. She’s definitely not going to give you anything,” Pegula said. “I was happy I was able to fight back and give myself a chance, but in the end it wasn’t enough.”

Fritz can end U.S. drought in majors

Taylor Fritz got choked up when it hit him that he had reached the U.S. Open final.

His explanation: “I cry at happy endings of movies and not at sad stuff. That’s kind of just how I am.”

Imagine what the 26-year-old Californian’s reaction would be if he actually were to take home the trophy by beating No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy on Sunday in Arthur Ashe Stadium. That would make Fritz the first American man to collect a Grand Slam title in 21 years.

“I have a feeling I’m going to come out and play really well and win,” the 12th-seeded Fritz said Friday night after coming back to get past another American, Frances Tiafoe, in five sets to reach a major final for the first time. “When I play good tennis, I think that level is good enough to win.”

How big a deal is it that Fritz will even be competing at Flushing Meadows on the last weekend of the tournament?

The last time a U.S. man played in any major final was in 2009, when Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon. The last time a U.S. man played in the U.S. Open final was 2006, when Roddick couldn’t get past — yes, of course — Federer. The last time a U.S. man did manage to win a Slam was in 2003, when Roddick defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero.

“I would love nothing more,” Roddick said on his podcast, “than for an American to win on Sunday. ... I get this anxious feeling every time they have to answer for it.”