WTA Finals | Jessica Pegula escapes Group of Death with Paolini win ahead of pivotal Gauff-Sabalenka clash

Jessica Pegula has easily defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3 to qualify for the WTA Finals semi-finals and will go through no matter what after scenarios that she may not have gone through prior even with winning two games.

But Pegula extinguished that by making sure that she won the first set and the straight sets win made sure that it was a formality. She has won 58% of the games and we will lose one of the two main names in the tournament tonight.

Coco Gauff faces Aryna Sabalenka shortly in the final tie in the group. If Sabalenka defeats Gauff at all, she wins the group and Pegula goes through as the second placed star.

If Gauff defeats Sabalenka in two, it will be Gauff and Pegula into the latter stages and Sabalenka goes home. If Gauff defeats Sabalenka in three, the % of games decided would certainly put Pegula through on top and Sabalenka second with Gauff going home.

Gauff needs to win in straight sets basically or Sabalenka merely has to win a set to move through. So a big game to come but Pegula who meekly went out last year is the one like Anisimova yesterday to send a big name home.

Yesterday it was Iga Swiatek, now it will be Sabalenka or the defending champion Gauff albeit Pegula did the hard work in the first place by beating Gauff in a horror show for the defending champion. There was talk pre match that Paolini would withdraw and because of the fact that Elise Mertens is there for doubles and Andreeva doesn't want to play, the Belgian who has an incredible record over Pegula would get ushered in.

But she didn't and there was no such issue for Pegula as she won quite comfortably and takes her spot in the semi-finals. All eyes now on Sabalenka or Gauff, certainly an exciting end to a group which was seen by many as the Group of Death with the World No.1, Pegula, Gauff and Paolini and ironically it wasn't the leading two expected that will go through. It is very much Pegula, the queen of consistency followed by Sabalenka or Gauff who make it.