WTA Finals: Pegula completes clean sweep of Bacalar Group with win over Sakkari
No 5 seed Jessica Pegula has defeated Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2, completing a clean sweep of the Bacalar Group at the WTA Finals in Cancun on Thursday
Zuma/Panoramic
American Jessica Pegula continued her fine form in Mexico on Thursday night, defeating Greek Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 at the WTA Finals in Cancun.
The victory sees the No 5 seed finish top of the Bacalar Group with three wins and no losses across the group stage, after Pegula defeated Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina earlier in the tournament.
With Pegula booking her spot in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals on Saturday, she’ll take confidence from one incredible stat going in her favour this year: after winning the first set, the world No 5 is 50-0 this season.
Powerful Pegula rolls on in Cancun
It was a fast start for Pegula that once again blew away an opponent at the WTA Finals, this time with the American racing out to a lead against Maria Sakkari.
Both women were dicey on serve across the match with 10 breaks in 17 games, however it was Sakkari who failed to hold hers on seven occasions, leading to her downfall. After a break in the third game, Pegula raced out to a 5-3 lead, before again taking advantage of Sakkari’s poor second serve (eight double faults) to seal the set.
The second set was much the same, with Pegula plundering the Greek’s second serve and continuing to hit her spots in the baseline exchanges as well.
By defeating Sakkari, Pegula completes a remarkable turnaround from this time last year, where she went 0-3 across group play at the WTA Finals. She’s now 3-0, and will face either Coco Gauff or Ons Jabeur in the semi-finals.
In the final match of the Bacalar Group on Thursday evening, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will square off to determine who joins Pegula in advancing from the group, with both women currently holding 1-1 records.
