Pegula Battles Back to Reach All-American Charleston Final Against Kenin

Charleston(The Uttam Hindu): Top seed Jessica Pegula fought back from a break down twice in the final set to secure a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory over No. 9 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, booking her place in her first One Charleston Open final. In a thrilling, two-hour, 18-minute semifinal, Pegula overcame Alexandrova to reach her second consecutive singles final this spring, following her run at the WTA 1000 Miami Open. This marks Pegula’s third final in her last four tournaments, which also includes a title at the WTA 250 Austin event. Pegula’s victory over Alexandrova is her 24th WTA main-draw win of the year, placing her ahead of Aryna Sabalenka, who has 23, as per WTA stats.

Reflecting on the match, Pegula said, “She’s beaten me the last couple of times. Every time it’s the same: I win the first set, she wins the second, and then she wins the third. It took everything today—maybe a bit of luck, maybe the crowd. But I’m proud that I was able to trust myself and do things differently this time.” Pegula will now face fellow American Sofia Kenin in Saturday’s final. Kenin advanced after her opponent, No. 8 seed Amanda Anisimova, retired due to a right hip injury while Kenin was leading 5-2 in the first set. “I’m feeling very good with the level I’ve played throughout the week. It’s unfortunate that Amanda had to retire. I wish her a speedy recovery. She’s had a great year,” said Kenin. The final will be the first all-American showdown in Charleston since 1990, when Martina Navratilova defeated Jennifer Capriati.