Pegula stays red hot with Cincinnati semi-final win over Badosa

Following an injury-plagued start to the summer, Jessica Pegula seemingly cannot lose.

Pegula battled past Paula Badosa 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the semi-finals of the Western & Southern Open on Sunday afternoon. The American, who triumphed last week at the WTA Premier 1000 event in Toronto, extended her winning streak to nine matches after one hour and 53 minutes.

Aryna Sabalenka, who ousted world No 1 Iga Swiatek, stands in Pegula’s way of a second consecutive 1000-point title on Monday.

Coming off a three-set thriller against Leylah Fernandez, Pegula showed early signs of enjoying a much more dominant semi-final. She took advantage of an out-of-sorts Badosa to easily take the first set and seize a break lead in the second.

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After whole host of intermittent during the Sabalenka vs Swiatek match, when the players were never forced to leave the court, there was a longer pause following the seventh game of the second set in the second semi-final. It was Badosa who emerged from the locker room with the momentum. The Spaniard won the next two games to force a decider, in which she earned four break points at 1-1.

That, however, is when the momentum switched back to Pegula. The world No 6 managed to hold for 2-1 before a break of her own at 4-3 proved to be decisive. Pegula fought off one break point while serving for the match at 5-3 to clinch victory.

SABALENKA VS PEGULA IN CINCINNATI FINAL

It has been a heavy workload for Pegula, who missed Wimbledon with a rib injury and — perhaps not yet 100 percent — lost early at the Paris Olympics. Well rested going into Toronto, the 30-year-old won that tournament and has not looked back in Cincinnati. She has continued to rack up wins even though her match against Fernandez on Saturday lasted three hours and five minutes,

“I’ve been working a lot on my fitness and my movement,” Pegula said during an interview with the Tennis Channel. “I had a rib injury, so we were working a lot on the lower body. I’m moving really well, so that gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.

“It would be crazy to win back-to-back 1000s.”

In order to do it, Pegula will have to beat Sabalenka for a third time. The Belarusian leads the head-to-head series 4-2.

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