Jessica
Pegula continues her great form in Cancun, defeating a frustrated
Maria Sakkari
6-3, 6-2 to win the Bacalar Group and advance to the semifinals at the WTA
Finals.
The
American played without pressure, knowing she was already qualified for the
semis and only needed to win a set to secure the top spot in the group. In her
previous matches, she defeated Elena Rybakina (7-5, 6-2) and world No. 1 Aryna
Sabalenka (4-6, 3-6).
On the
other hand, Sakkari arrived with nothing to lose, as she had already been
eliminated from the tournament and was only playing to determine the group's
placements and to gain some extra points before the year's end.
Sakkari had
a 5-4 head-to-head lead over Pegula, but this time the story was different. The
first set began with an inconsistent Sakkari losing her first service game but
managing to recover the break immediately in the following game. Unfortunately
for the Greek, she couldn't hold her serve in her next two opportunities,
giving Pegula a significant lead at 5-1.
In the
seventh game, the recent champion of the WTA 1000 Guadalajara Open defended her
serve for the first time in the match and gained momentum to break back and
make the score 5-3. However, she once again faced issues with her serve and
ended up losing the set to her opponent 6-3.
The Greek
athlete was more aggressive, hitting 7 winners compared to Pegula's 1, but she
made many more unforced errors, totaling 20 compared to her rival's 11.
The
beginning of the second set saw Pegula defending her serve and taking two
breaks to establish a 4-0 lead. Although Sakkari reduced the deficit with a
break, it wasn't enough to push the match to its conclusion, and she ultimately
lost 6-3, 6-2, concluding her 2023 season.
The next
match will close the Bacalar Group with a clash between Elena Rybakina and
Aryna Sabalenka, determining who will advance to the semifinals.
