(Reuters) -Top seed Jessica Pegula came from behind on Friday to beat Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 4-6 6-3 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Citi Open in Washington DC, where she will play Greece’s Maria Sakkari.
The American fired a serve up the T that Svitolina could not handle to end the high-quality contest and its riveting 54-minute third set.
Svitolina, who returned from maternity break in April and made the semi-finals of Wimbledon last month, dug deep to fend off two match points in her final service game but was unable to convert her break point opportunities in the deciding set.
Svitolina has produced stunning results including a win over world number one Iga Swiatek at the All England Club in July despite the turmoil caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I have tons of respect for her,” Pegula said in an on-court interview.
“She just had a baby, and with everything she is going through with her country, I told her I feel like she came back as a new person. I can see the competitiveness in her and I’ve always really respected that.”
Pegula, who won the WTA 500 event in 2019, improved to 3-1 lifetime against wildcard Svitolina.
SAKKARI WINS TWICE
Sakkari beat Madison Keys 6-3 6-3 for her second win of the day after she defeated Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 7-5 6-2 in their rain-delayed last 16 match.
The fourth seeded Sakkari served extremely well, winning 83% of her first serve points while double faulting just once, to dispatch Keys, who struggled to find her rhythm throughout the contest.
American Coco Gauff played a nearly flawless match to dispatch the dangerous Belinda Bencic 6-1 6-2 in their quarter-final, a solid response after the 19-year-old’s disappointing first round exit from Wimbledon last month.
Gauff’s speed, serving and defense proved too much for the Swiss player under the lights on Friday night.
“I put a lot of hours in after Wimbledon and I was eager to bounce back,” Gauff said.
“I hope I can play even better and I know if I continue to put in the work, I can.”
Next up for Gauff is a semi-final clash with defending champion Liudmila Samsonova after the Russian beat Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-2 earlier in the day.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Pritha Sarkar and Tom Hogue)
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