Staff Reporter.
Jessica Pegula fought back to end Aryna Sabalenka’s 20-match winning streak in Wuhan with a dramatic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) victory in the semi-finals.
Pegula clawed her way back from 2-5 down in the decider to shock the world number one and set up a final against fellow American Coco Gauff, who squeezed past Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3.
“I’m just really proud of myself. I’ve played so much tennis the last few weeks, so many three-set matches but I feel like I’m very tough right now and I’m just using that as best I can.”
“Playing Coco in a final here would be awesome. We know each other so well — there are no secrets. We know what our game plans are, and it’s just going to come down to who can execute it the best.”
Pegula upped her level when she needed it the most to claim just the third victory from 11 meetings with Sabalenka.