Top seed Pegula overcomes Anisimova in Charleston; Collins also prevails
Pegula was a semifinalist here a year ago, but was made to work hard throughout the second-round clash, winning just four of 15 break point opportunities.
Jessica Pegula (IANS)
CHARLESTON: The top seed and world No.5 Jessica Pegula survived a three-set thriller against fellow American Amanda Anisimova, coming back to win 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7-3) in two hours and 26 minutes.
Pegula was also in trouble as she had a match point denied in the tenth game of the decider, but ran away in the breaker, sprinting out to a 5-1 lead and closing out the match on a forehand wide from her compatriot.
Pegula was a semifinalist here a year ago, but was made to work hard throughout the second-round clash, winning just four of 15 break point opportunities.
The 30-year-old American will meet Magda Linette in the third round after the 32-year-old Pole rallied from a first-set bagel to beat Dayana Yastremska across three sets.
Pegula’s fellow seeded American Madison Keys wasn’t as lucky, falling in three sets to Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian, who claimed just her second career win over a Top 20 foe with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 upset.
On Tuesday afternoon, the freshly minted Miami Open champion Danielle Collins throttled Paula Badosa 6-1, 6-4.
She’ll play No.2 seed Ons Jabeur in an appealing second-round match Wednesday.
It was another disappointment for Badosa, who is now 5-7. She missed the last six months of 2023 with a spinal stress fracture of the L4 vertebrae and has also dealt with calf and adductor injuries.