Pegula outlasts Fernandez in epic three-hour battle in Cincinnati

Impeccable Jessica Pegula defeats Leylah Fernandez to reach Cincinnati Open semifinals 7-5, 6-7(1), 7-6(3). The American has had a perfect hardcourt swing, achieving her 8th consecutive victory after clinching the title at the Canadian Open last week.

This marks the 10th time she has reached the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event, a first in Cincinnati, and she is the last local hope remaining in the draw.

A match that had two faces in the first set. The start was even on both sides, with Pegula (No. 6) serving at 76%, winning 62% of those points, while Leylah (No. 27) was slightly behind at 62%, winning 46% of her serves. However, the Canadian was more effective with her second serve (33% compared to just 11% for Pegula).

The players maintained parity in the match during the first few games until 2-2, when the first break came in favor of Pegula. From there, both players struggled with the fast conditions and wind on court, leading to up to 7 consecutive breaks—3 for Fernandez and 4 for Pegula—who ultimately managed to hold her service game and took the closely contested set 7-5.

The second set told a different story as Leylah appeared less competitive against the world No. 6. While Pegula showed improvements in her serve, Fernandez continued to face serious issues with her service. Pegula secured two more breaks, bringing her total to 6 consecutive breaks in her favor, taking a 4-0 lead after winning 17 of the first 20 points played.

It seemed all but lost for Fernandez, but she displayed her usual fighting spirit despite everything against her. Fernandez mounted a comeback, winning up to four consecutive games to level the match and then went ahead 5-4 with her serve. Pegula saved several set points against her in the 10th game and stayed alive despite a noticeable drop in her level. The match went to a tie-break, where Fernandez had absolute control and closed the set 7-6(1).

The third set started once again in Pegula’s favour, as she secured an early break and was quickly ahead 3-0. Fernandez had to fight back and broke serve early, leveling the score at 3-3. With both players holding their service games, the 12th game had epic moments after six deuces, with Fernandez saving three match points against her to send everything to a tie-break.

The finish was a battle of nerves. The American kept her composure and took the lead after two mini-breaks. This time Fernandez couldn’t recover, and Pegula secured the victory on her fifth match point, clinching the win 7-5, 6-7(1), 7-6(3), after three hours and seven minutes. Pegula's next opponent will be the winner between Paula Badosa (No. 37) and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (No. 28).