Weird coincidence behind Jessica Pegula's loss at San Diego Open as Kostyuk set to face Boulter

WTA
Monday, 04 March 2024 at 14:54
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Jessica Pegula suffered another defeat from leading positions, this time against Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals of the San Diego Open. The previous one had been against Katie Boulter in the 2024 United Cup, and interestingly, the British player will now challenge Kostyuk for the title of the WTA 500 San Diego.
World No. 5 has not enjoyed a good season so far. She began the year at the United Cup, where she defended the title with the USA, but they did not advance from the group stage. In individual play, her first tournament was in Adelaide, but she withdrew before playing in the semifinals. She then traveled to the Australian Open and exited in the second round, announcing that she would be out for a few weeks due to injury.
In her return to the Tour six weeks later, she arrived as the top seed at the San Diego Open, securing consecutive victories against Jule Niemeier (6-0, 6-4) and Anna Blinkova (6-1, 2-6, 6-2). However, in the semifinals, she collided with Marta Kostyuk in an impressive performance by the Ukrainian.
Pegula was up 5-1 in the first set but only won 2 of the next 13 games, ultimately being eliminated with a scoreline of 7-6(4), 6-1. Kostyuk's comeback was reminiscent of Pegula's defeat at the start of the season in the United Cup against Boulter. In that match, Pegula led 7-5, 3-0 (and with the serve), but Boulter eventually turned the match around (5-7, 6-4, 6-4), securing a crucial victory for the elimination of the USA.

Unexpected Final in San Diego:

Both Boulter and Kostyuk are now poised for their first WTA 500 final, with each having only played one final before, albeit in the WTA 250 category: Kostyuk claimed the title at the 2023 ATX Open, and Boulter secured her first trophy at the 2023 Nottingham Open.
While few would have predicted these finalists, both had a great week, defeating top-ranked opponents. Boulter has secured her best ranking yet as world No. 35, while Kostyuk currently stands at No. 31 in the live rankings. The points difference between them is just 40 points, and whoever emerges as the champion will advance to world No. 27.

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