Daria KASATKINA conquers Jessica PEGULA, Charleston Open showdown ends in thrilling victory to reach the final

Daria Kasatkina (No. 11) overcame a high-intensity duel against Jessica Pegula (No. 5) and advanced to the final of the WTA 500 Charleston Open. Both players struggled to maintain their serve throughout the match, but ultimately the American prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5) and is just one match away from returning to the top-10 after two years of absence.

In a more than intense match where the score favored one player and then the other, they began the match with exchanged breaks that kept the score level. Another break in favor of Pegula put her 4-2 up, showing a good level against the Russian. Kasatkina then mounted a comeback, winning the next four consecutive games to take the set 6-4.

Pegula won just 50% of the points on her first serve and 40% on her second, compared to Kasatkina's 65% on her first and 40% on her second. With neither player imposing much from the serve, it was a set dominated by exchanges from the baseline.

In the second set, Pegula took a more offensive approach and again was the first to secure the break to go up 3-1. At that point, both players showed inconsistency on serve, with seven consecutive breaks in the set (4 for Pegula and 3 for Kasatkina). The Russian saved five set points at 3-5 with Pegula serving but was unable to hold serve (for the fourth consecutive time) and conceded the set 6-4.

With tension in the air and an increasingly involved local crowd, Pegula once again started with a quick break to go up 2-0. Kasatkina responded by breaking back twice, in addition to holding her service game and being ahead for the first time since the first set. However, the serve of both players remained inconsistent, and Kasatkina experienced physical problems when trailing 2-3, prompting her to request a medical timeout to have her right thigh examined.

With six breaks in the first eight games, they reached parity at 4-4, at which point both players showed their best with the serve, and no more break points were played in the set, leading to a tie-break. Ultimately, the 26-year-old Russian prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5) to reach her third final of the season. Throughout the match, which lasted over two and a half hours, each player secured 8 breaks, with both winning more from the return than with the serve.

Kasatkina is now just one step away from returning to the top-10 if she wins the title and will play in the 16th final of her career. Her record is 6-9 so far, and she has lost four consecutive finals since the beginning of 2023, all in WTA 500 tournaments. She now awaits her opponent, who will emerge between the 3rd seed Maria Sakkari and the almost unstoppable Danielle Collins, who comes from a streak of 11 consecutive victories.