World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka booked a ticket in her first Miami Open final with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 6 seed Jasmina Paolini on Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium, never losing serve to advance to her 12th career WTA 1000 final.

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Miami is now something of a home tournament for Sabalenka, who resides in South Florida -- and told reporters earlier in the tournament that she loves to be able to sleep in her own bed, drive her car, and even do laundry when competing at the tournament. But whether at the tournament's previous home in Key Biscayne or now in Miami Gardens, Sabalenka could never previously find the comforts that come with familiar confines, only twice reaching the quarterfinals in six appearances.

But after breaking new ground with a 6-2, 7-5 win over No. 9 seed Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals -- her seventh win to zero losses against the reigning Olympic gold medalist -- another favorable match-up against Paolini helped Sabalenka push through to a match she's always wanted to play. The three-time major champion has now won her last three meeting with the Italian, all without the loss of a set.

Sabalenka never trailed against Paolini, and the match was only tied twice -- at 1-1 in each set. She served six aces, broke the Italian's serve four times, and wrapped up victory in 1 hour and 11 minutes to advance to face No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula, who ended the Cinderella run of teenage wild card Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, in Saturday's final.

In the last 20 years, Sabalenka -- who lost to Mirra Andreeva in the BNP Paribas Open final -- is the sixth player to reach the final at Indian Wells and Miami in the same season after Kim Clijsters (2005), Maria Sharapova (2006, 2012, 2013), Victoria Azarenka (2016), Iga Swiatek (2022) and Elena Rybakina (2023).

"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 post-match. "I don't know. I was just so focused on myself, on the things I had to do today.

"It felt like everything was just, like, going smoothly my way. Yeah, super happy with the performance. I felt like I was in the zone."

Pegula turns around first set, holds off Eala late

In the nightcap, Pegula needed 2 hours and 26 minutes to see off Eala, whose Cinderella run came to an end as Thursday turned into Friday in Miami. From 5-2 down to start the match, Pegula turned around the opening set -- crucially breaking serve at 5-3 after Eala double-faulted at 40-30, and again at deuce, on the way to a 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3 victory.

The three-set thriller finished after midnight local time, following a furious comeback by Eala from a set and a break down, and a third set in which neither woman lost serve in the first seven games -- or even faced a break point.

But Pegula, who defeated 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu in a late-night Wednesday affair too, had just enough to push over the line in the last three games, which included a hold to win the match from 0-30.

"I'm so tired, so, so tired," Pegula said in her on-court interview after being "pushed to the limit," as described by emcee Andrew Krasny, by the talented young left-hander, who had stunned both Australian Open champion Madison Keys and World No. 2 Iga Swiatek earlier in the tournament.

"She's really good. She's a really good tennis player, goes for her shots, takes the ball early ... competes really well, she's beaten a lot of top players this week -- I don't think she needs me to tell her that she's a great player, that we're not going to see enough of her, we definitely are, and she proved that tonight."

Pegula will take a 2-6 head-to-head record against Sabalenka into Saturday's final as she seeks a fourth career WTA 1000 title. She lost two big hard-court finals to Sabalenka last year in Cincinnati and at the US Open in straight sets, but three of the four sets the pair played in those matches stretched to 7-5.

"I do feel like I'm serving a little bit better," Pegula said. "Hopefully I can serve well Saturday. I think that's something you have to do against her. She returns really well.

"I have been returning well, so I always feel like even though she's one of the best servers in the world, I can give myself a chance maybe to break her. But she's tough. She's playing with a lot of confidence. She likes, I think, a little bit quicker hard court, as well, playing one-two punch, playing an aggressive game.

"I had chances at the US Open, up 5-3 in that second set. Who knows what would have happened there. I definitely know I'll get some chances if I play some good tennis hopefully, and I will try to do my best of trying to take advantage of that, and, you know, learning from the last couple of matches."