By James Beck
Jessica Pegula will not easily disappear. Ekaterina Alexandrova received a Charleston Open on Saturday in the semi -finals of the loan.
Even when Alexandrova seemed to be great in order to prepare with a 4-2 lead in the third set and preparing for serving, Pegula would not disappear. She came back right away and broke Alexandrova slightly on the way to a 6-2, 2-6, 7: 5 victory.
That was the beginning of the end of Alexandrova’s offer for a surprise.
Pegula is now on the sidelines of winning her first Coco title. All she has to do is defeat the winner of the Grand Slam tournament, Sofia Kenin, in the final on Sunday.
Kenin may be Pegula’s most difficult task in this tournament. Alexandrova and 2024 Coco Champion Danielle Collins should be Pegula’s real tests. But now Kenin brings a new challenge on the square. She only had to play in the semi -finals for a short time, because Amanda Anisimova No. 8 with a leg injury, while he went back 5-2 with Kenin.
“I’m tired. I was tired yesterday. I actually felt worse yesterday (when winning against Collins),” said Pegula.
“I feel okay. Obviously, the tank runs a bit low in the long three weeks in which I played a lot of tennis.
“She’s really hard,” said Pegula about Kenin. “She is another really hard matchup for me. She hits this flat ball, can take it very early, use her pace.
“She won a Grand Slam and didn’t really have the results that she has been looking for since then. But she still immerses and beats good people and can always be very hard with her game. As I said, it takes it early. It is uncomfortable to play against.
And it doesn’t really give you emotionally. She only goes to the other, stays in her own little bubble, does her thing whether she wins or loses. “
Kenin was not heard much in 2020 in recent years after winning the Australian Open and then won the Finale of the French Open. Born in Moscow and now American citizens, this week was impressive and defeated Daria Kasatkina No. 5 and the Olympic gold medalist from 2020, Belinda Bencic, both won WTA titles in Charleston.
“I know that she hasn’t been to her top level for a while, but we all know that she can still play like this if she wants, and this week she clearly played very well this week,” said Pegula.
“So, I think it will be another in which I have to try to use some variety, try to mix it a little when I
I have to, but still try to go to my shots and play my game. “
Pegula may have been lucky to defeat Alexandrova this week. After Pegula coordinated the game 5: 5 in the third set, he fought Alexandrova’s serve against a 6: 5 lead and closed the game with a backhand winner with a 40: 30 lead to end the job.
“It was the same kind of action in the past when I played it. I played a good first set, it comes back to the second and I usually lose the third. I am glad that I was able to turn this script around today,” said Pegula about her semi -final victory.
“It was only a kind of clever match today. I mean, the conditions were very hard. It was super windy, especially on this one side, and it was a lot of unpleasant pictures, footwork, only unpleasant situations.
“She is a really good player. I mean there is a reason why she beats a lot of players,” said Pegula about her victory over Alexandrova. “She can play at a really high level. Her game is difficult to play as she beats the ball when she serves well and returns well. It is strange. You have made a good serve and she hits a better return. She likes it if she likes it correctly, because if she tears this return, you know that you know
Fast you a serve, the faster he comes back, which is just a harder shot to meet immediately.
“So I think that sometimes I either got a free point or just got me the chance to get to the point instead of saying a good thing first and sitting on it and just tlinging a quick ball directly on me, and then I’m suddenly on defense. So I think that helped a bit today.”
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James Beck (843-795-3584, H)
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James Beck was the winner of the Usta National Media Award for print media in 2003. As a graduate of the citadel in 1995, he has been reached at [email protected].
