Pegula survives tight battle to reach quarters

Jessica Pegula battled through a tense three-set match to secure a spot in the Wuhan Open quarterfinals on Thursday, overcoming Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

The American, coming off a semifinal exit at last week’s China Open, showed resilience after losing an early service break in the third set. Pegula quickly leveled at 2-2 and then dominated the final stages, winning four of the last five games to seal the victory over the world No. 9.

Thursday’s win marked Pegula’s second consecutive thrilling match in Wuhan. She had narrowly edged past compatriot Hailey Baptiste in the second round, saving seven match points along the way.

Elsewhere at the tournament, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, a three-time Wuhan Open champion, was scheduled to face Liudmila Samsonova later in the day. Samsonova, ranked No. 16, recently defeated 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and will test Sabalenka’s 18-match winning streak at Wuhan. Sabalenka previously lifted the Wuhan trophy in 2018, 2019, and 2024.

Other notable matches included second-ranked Iga Swiatek taking on Belinda Bencic in the night session, while third-ranked Coco Gauff, who fell in last week’s China Open semifinals to Amanda Anisimova, was set to play Zhang Shuai.

Pegula’s win highlights her growing confidence on hard courts this season and sets the stage for an exciting quarterfinal showdown.