Jessica Pegula continued her thrilling rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka at the WTA Finals, where the American was beaten by the Belarusian.
Sabalenka was really upset by her coach during the group stage match in Riyadh, in which she beat Pegula 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
Pegula defeated Coco Gauff in her first match of this year’s WTA Finals, beating the defending champion 6-3, 6-7(4-7), 6-2.
She now faces Jasmine Paolini in her third and final match, with the Italian having lost to both Sabalenka and Gauff.
What Laura Robson loved seeing Jessica Pegula do against Aryna Sabalenka
Pegula enters the match on the back of a demanding clash with Sabalenka, in which she impressed former WTA player Laura Robson in one area in particular.
Discussing the midway point of the second set, she said on Sky Sports Tennis: “There was some edginess all of a sudden and Sabalenka mishit two or three forehands and the momentum totally changed and Pegula recognised that really, really well.
“She was talking with her box early in the second set and made the additional effort to chase a couple of extra balls down to get one extra shot in play and make Sabalenka really work.
“That is when you saw this uncomfortable feeling from Sabalenka. I was surprised to see it on the forehand side considering how she finished the match.
“It was like two different forehands throughout the last hour or so. That just makes it so impressive. She was making life really, really difficult.
“I love to see her come forward so much as well. She is a quality doubles player. Has a great first volley as well, you saw how effortless she made some of those volleys look from behind the service line. I would love to see that more often.”
What Aryna Sabalenka wants to do against Coco Gauff after beating Jessica Pegula
Pegula has indeed been able to improve in that area thanks to her doubles exploits, having played with the likes of Gauff and Taylor Townsend in the past.
Indeed, she boasts seven WTA doubles titles, along with nine singles titles, although her latest opponent Sabalenka is a two-time Grand Slam doubles champion.
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Asked on Tennis Channel what she’s looking forward to in her upcoming meeting with Gauff, Sabalenka said: “Well, as I said, I look at this tournament as I have to win five matches if I want to hold the trophy.
“So I’ll go out there and I’ll try to play a little bit cleaner tennis on my serve. I’ll work on a couple things, and I’ll try to bring my best tennis.”
Defending champion Gauff, who lost to Pegula before beating Paolini, holds a 6-5 head-to-head advantage over the world number one ahead of their next match.
That includes this year’s French Open final, where the American beat the Belarusian 6-7(5-7), 6-2, 6-4 for her second Grand Slam title.
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