Charleston Open: Pegula overcomes Anisimova in third set tiebreaker
Jessica Pegula edged out Amanda Anisimova 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Tuesday and will play Pole Magda Linette in the next round
Jessica Pegula at the 2024 Miami Open
Image Credit: Panoramic
Top seed Jessica Pegula edged out fellow American Amanda Anisimova in a third set tiebreaker to advance to the last 16 at the Charleston Open at the Family Circle Tennis Center on Tuesday.
Anisimova, playing her first tournament since the Australian Open in January, started the match on a strong note to win the first set before Pegula bounced back to take the next two sets and complete the 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) win in two hours and 26 minutes.
Pegula, ranked No 5, will face former Australian Open semi-finalist Magda Linette, of Poland, next. The 30-year-old is chasing her first final on the WTA Tour this year.
I just had to buckle down, and I think I started being a little bit more active with my feet and pressuring her a little bit more, and being able to move her and scrap out a few points as well.
“It’s always a tough one playing Amanda, because she is just a really great ball striker, and she can really take the racquet out of your hands,” Pegula said as quoted by the WTA Tour website. “So you know when she’s hot, it’s really tough. I just had to buckle down, and I think I started being a little bit more active with my feet and pressuring her a little bit more, and being able to move her and scrap out a few points as well. I just kind of found a way today, but it was a really great match, I thought, especially the last set was super high-level.”
With the win, Pegula improves to 2-0 lifetime against Anisimova. She also has a 1-0 lead over Linette, her next opponent.
Anisimova, a former top 25 player now ranked No 264, beat Frenchwoman Alize Cornet (6-3, 6-0) in the previous round of the Charleston tournament.
Charleston WTA 500, other second-round matches (Family Circle Tennis Center, clay, USD 922,573):
- Magda Linette beat Dayana Yastremska (13): 0-6, 6-4, 6-3
- Maria Sakkari (3) beat Viktoriya Tomova: 6-3, 6-3
- Leylah Fernandez vs. Sloane Stephens
- Danielle Collins vs. Ons Jabeur
- Elina Svitolina vs. Daria Saville
- Varvara Gracheva vs. Elise Mertens
- Shelby Rogers vs. Veronika Kudermetova
- Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Caroline Dolehide
- Emma Navarro vs. Katie Volynets
- Daria Kasatkina vs. Ashlyn Krueger
- Taylor Townsend vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova
- Lesia Tsurenko vs. Astra Sharma
- Caroline Wozniacki vs. Anhelina Kalinina
- Victoria Azarenka vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto
- Jaqueline Cristian vs. Madison Keys
