Fifth seed from the United States (US) Jessica Pegula beat Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the third round of the Miami Open, Monday (25/3) WIB.
Fernandez broke to lead 5-3 in the first set but Pegula responded perfectly, winning four games in a row to take the set.
Both players struggled to hold serve in the second set, with the first seven games going against serve.
However, Pegula ultimately held on to take a 5-3 lead and she held the final game with gusto to secure victory.
AFP/Al Bello/Getty Images—Canadian tennis player Leylah Fernandez
Pegula will face rising US women’s tennis star Emma Navarro, who beat Italian 12th seed Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 3-6 and 6-0.
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Paolini, who won the WTA 1000 Series event in Dubai earlier this year, weakened after coming back in the second set.
Meanwhile Navarro cemented his status as one of the most improved players on the tour.
With her 20th match win of the season, Navarro is enjoying the most successful season of her career, having won her first WTA title in Hobart last January.
Also read: Advancing to the last 16 of the Miami Open, Pegula meets Potapova
Pegula said the confidence that comes from a run of results like that will make him a tough opponent.
“The feeling of winning a lot of games, it’s very difficult to beat people like that and even if you beat them, it’s never easy,” AFP quoted Pegula as saying.
“It’s going to be a really good test for me to see where I’m at considering he’s probably one of the hottest players on tour at the moment,” he added.
Meanwhile, third seed from the US Coco Gauff did not experience much difficulty in winning 6-4, 6-0 over French tennis player Oceane Dodin.
Gauf will face the winner of the match between Caroline Garcia and Naomi Osaka in the last 16 of the Miami Open. (AFP/Z-1)
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