Jessica Pegula defeats Coco Gauff to reach WTA Finals

Jessica Pegula defeated doubles partner Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-1 on Saturday to advance to the GNP Seguros WTA Finals championship match. It lasted exactly one hour.

The No.5 seeded American will face the winner of the highly anticipated second evening semifinal between No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and No.2 Iga Swiatek on Monday after the match was suspended because of rain on Saturday.

Pegula is now 4-0 in Estadio Paradisus after losing all three of her matches at last year's WTA Finals in Fort Worth. She has defeated No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, No.3 Gauff, No.4 Elena Rybakina, and No.9 Maria Sakkari.

Early on, the two players broke each other, but with the score 2-all, Pegula went to work. She broke Gauff for the second time when a netcord ball fell back. Pegula held and broke for the second time in a row when a Gauff forehand service return soared long.

Pegula broke Gauff for the fourth time to start the second set, and she did it again in the fifth game. Rain again interrupted play with Pegula leading 4-1, but she finished with a flourish after resumption, breaking Gauff yet again.

“It’s probably my biggest final ever,” Pegula said. “It’s going to give me a lot of confidence going into next year.”

SportsLigue