Jessica Pegula edges past Kalinskaya to win Berlin Open title
Jessica Pegula beat Anna Kalinskaya 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 (3) to win her first WTA title of the season at the Berlin Open
Jessica Pegula wins 2024 Berlin Open © Imago / Panoramic
Jessica Pegula won her first WTA title of the season in dramatic style, saving five championship points against Anna Kalinskaya to come through 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the final of the Berlin Open.
Pegula has endured a torrid first half of the year, as a back injury has ravaged most of her season. But she is a wonderful grass-courter, with her flat groundstrokes well-complimented by an adept net game and excellent serving.
Today, Pegula once again exhibited her formidable prowess on the surface to finish off her semi-final against Coco Gauff in the morning before clinching a hard-fought victory over Kalinskaya immediately afterwards.
It is the American’s fifth WTA title and her first on grass.
Victory today signals the return of one of the WTA’s most consistent players over the past few years. Pegula had not been to a tour-level final since Tokyo last October, and her previous title triumph came in Montreal last August, following struggles with injury over the past six months.
But with the arrival of the grass-court season, so too sees the re-emergence of a WTA top-ten mainstay.
For Kalinskaya, reaching the final in Berlin is yet another feather in the cap of an excellent breakthrough season in which she reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, before a superb run to the final of Dubai back in February.
Now, she’s displayed her ability to apply her big-hitting game to the grass as she extended her 2024 record against top-ten players to 7-0 during an impressive run to the final. She will break into the top 20 for the first time in her career when the new rankings are published tomorrow.
The first set saw three breaks apiece as Pegula struck first only to see her opponent break back thrice in succession before powering through the tiebreak 7-0 to move into a one-set lead.
But Pegula edged another topsy-turvy second set before turning the tables on that opening-set tiebreak in the third. After saving five championship points, she took the deciding breaker 7-3 with courageous hitting to seal her first title of the season and her maiden title win on grass.
wimbledon chances rise for impressive pegula and kalinskaya after litany of withdrawals in berlin
“Thank you so much for coming and making the atmosphere very special,” Kalinskaya said in her runner-up speech.
“It’s been an incredible week for me. I missed playing on grass. Making the final means a lot to me. Losing today is upsetting but Jess congratulations to you. You’re such a fighter. It’s nice to see you back on tour.
“Couldn’t have wished for a better comeback. If we play like this against each other every time, I’ll be happy for both of us.”
Pegula was similarly gracious to her opponent.
“Congratulations to Anna and her coach. You guys have had a really great year and you’re playing as a top player for sure.
“Keep it up. I’m sorry today went the way it did. But I feel like we played at a really high level. It was a really good match. We left it all out there.”
Pegula will next turn her attention to Eastbourne, while Kalinksaya is due to play in Bad Homburg next week.
After a litany of withdrawals for leading Wimbledon contenders in Berlin this week due to illness and injury, both Pegula and Kalinskaya have outside chances of a surprise title charge at SW19 next month following their excellent runs in the German capital.
