cancun – Jessica Pegula In a showdown between American doubles partners on a rainy and windy night at the WTA Finals on Saturday, Jessica Pegula defeated He defeated U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the championship match at the end of the season. first.
In the semi-finals, the two sides tied at 2. The fifth seed Pegula (29 years old, born in New York, now living in Florida, 10 years older than Goff) took a 2-0 lead in the second game of the first set for six consecutive games.
This is the first time two American women have faced each other in the semifinals of the event since Serena Williams defeated Jennifer Capriati in 2002. Pegula and third-seeded Gauff hugged at the net as Saturday’s semifinal ended an hour later.
“Coco remains the present and future of American tennis. I’m happy that I’m also at the top of my game and one of the leaders for all Americans,” Pegula said. “So that’s always good. That’s how I see myself.”
They were scheduled to play a doubles match together later Saturday, but the match was canceled by heavy rain – and the second singles semifinal between No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga · Swiatek was also suspended that night. They had just finished their fourth game when the storm came.
The game was suspended, Swiatek led 2-1, and Sabalenka’s serve tied at 30. Both were wrapped in white towels to protect themselves from the cold. Organizers waited nearly two hours before canceling all games until Sunday.
Sabalenka won the Australian Open in January and finished runner-up to Gauff at the U.S. Open in September. Swiatek won the French Open in June, her fourth major title.
“They’ve won Grand Slams and big tournaments before, so I thought I might be the underdog again,” Pegula said, “even though I played some really good tennis.”
Pegula won all eight singles sets in the top eight women’s tennis rankings this week. She is the first player since Williams in 2012 to reach the final without dropping a set.
Gauff vs Gauff Pegula was delayed by about an hour because of showers – bad weather has been a theme throughout the WTA Finals – and then postponed again because of two rain interruptions in the second set, each time It takes less than 15 minutes. The changing breeze affects the way the ball travels.
“She was pretty good in the wind and I wasn’t. So, yeah, that’s pretty much it,” Goff said, noting that they didn’t have a chance to fully warm up before taking the field. “At the end of the day, she’s the most experienced player in this situation. So I don’t blame the weather or anything else. “We’re in the same boat. “
And it’s true: None of this seems to be slowing Pegula down, as she’s vying for the most prestigious title of her career.
“Winning in such a tough field will give me a lot of confidence going into next year,” said Pegula, who has won nine consecutive games, including last month’s Korea Open title. “I think I can handle pretty well any opponent I face, even in these conditions.”
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