Aryna Sabalenka’s title defence at the Wuhan Open is over following a loss to Jessica Pegula in the semifinals, 2-6. 6-4, 7-6.
After conceding the first set, Pegula clinched the second and emerged victorious in the decisive third-set tiebreak to confirm a new champion in Wuhan for the first time since 2018.
Sabalenka‘s 20-match unbeaten streak at the WTA 1000 event came to an end, as well as her pursuit of a fourth title in a row.
Claiming just her third career win over the Belarusian, Pegula was in shock when reacting to her triumph.
Jessica Pegula reacts to defeating Aryna Sabalenka in Wuhan
“That was crazy,” said the American in her on-court interview. “I can’t believe I came back and won that. I was very nervous trying to serve it out.
“I lost my timing, lost my rhythm, trying to go for too much, but I bounced right back in the tiebreak. I’m just really proud of myself.
“I have played so much tennis in the last few weeks, so many three-set matches, but I feel like I’m very tough right now, and I’m just using that as best as I can.”
“I just thought I’m lucky that I even came back from 5-2, you know? I was serving for it, but I mean, the last few weeks I have had a lot of match points that have slipped, match points that I’ve lost, I’ve saved match points, so to be honest, it was nothing new.
“It has been like that every single match. I guess I was just used to it. I just stayed super present and played the next point, moved on, tried to think about my strategy and what I needed to focus on.”
Jessica Pegula looks ahead to the final against Coco Gauff
Pegula will now face Coco Gauff in the final, who defeated Jasmine Paolini in her semifinal bout.
She said of the upcoming title bout: “It will be awesome playing Coco in the final here. I’m sure she’s going to want to win after losing in the final last year.
“We know each other so well. There are no secrets. We know what we’re going to try and do what our game plans are and it’s just going to be about who can execute it the best, but it’s always an honor to play her, especially if it gets to be a final.
“I think it might be our first time we played in a final actually, but it’s cool. It’s a good way to maybe end the Asian swing and head on to the WTA finals.”
The two will indeed clash for the first time in a tour-level final, and for the seventh time overall.
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