"I struggled a lot in the past with a lot of different things, I went through really tough challenges, and I was struggling with my serve so much," said the 26-year-old.

"I couldn't serve for a while, so I had to play without the serve, and I think that was the moment when I realized that I actually have other weapons in my game, so I can actually win the match even if my serve is not working," she said.

Sabalenka, who now lives in Miami, brought the hand-blown crystal trophy to the interview room. "Finally, I was able to play my best tennis in the final," Sabalenka said. "I'm super happy to hold this beautiful trophy. I feel like I'm home here, even though I'm traveling every week, it still feels like home."

Sabalenka said she will spend the next two weeks in Miami, relaxing before the clay season.

"My team is so exhausted, so, today, we will chill, but tomorrow I'm going to force them to have drinks, burgers, pizza (and) have fun," Sabalenka said. "I think we should celebrate, because we struggled after those tough finals; all kind of depressed. After this final, we have to celebrate to remember the moment."

During the trophy ceremony, Pegula said to Sabalenka: "You're the best player in the world for a reason. You keep challenging everyone to get better. The level of tennis you've been able to play is amazing."

While Sabalenka is a recent South Florida resident, Pegula, a 31-yearold Buffalo native, had the crowd support. Pegula has lived in Boca Raton since she was 13, and is daughter of Terry Pegula, owner of the Buffalo Bills and Sabres.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was in attendance, with the league owners meeting taking place Monday in nearby Palm Beach. Her father was also on hand.

"It's still cool to see this transform from a Dolphins-Bills game to a tennis stadium," Pegula said.

Pegula said she saw Goodell, whom she had met previously, before the match.

"He was with his daughter and family an hour before the match," Pegula said. "I didn't know he was coming. I saw him in the cafeteria. It was kind of funny."

Neither player could hold serve well in the first set. Sabalenka broke Pegula's serve four times and won it 7-5, winning the last eight points of the set.

At 5-5, Sabalenka held serve at love for a 6-5 lead, then broke Pegula at love after hitting three straight winners — two at the net.

"She was able to hit the lines when she needed to, hit the big serve with the one-two punch when she needed to," Pegula said.

Sabalenka leads the head-to-head with Pegula 7-2 and has won the last three meetings — all finals. Pegula sounded tired of losing to her.

"Now, it feels like the last year Aryna had, especially on the hard courts, been kind of unstoppable, virtually," Pegula said. "I definitely like embracing that challenge, although I am getting a little annoyed with playing her."

Pegula smiled, adding: "I don't know if I would have won if I had played someone else. But, man, I mean, it's three titles."

Agencies