Two-time champion and leader in the schedule Jessica Pegula (USA) has advanced to the final of the UTA 500 hard court tennis tournament in the US capital, Washington, with a prize pool of $1,637,982, BTA reported.
The 32-year-old American, who triumphed in the 2019 and 2021 tournament, defeated fourth seed Diana Schneider (Russia) 7:5, 6:4 in an hour and 27 minutes.
Pegula overcame a 2:5 deficit in the first set, but after a series of five consecutive games, she came back. In the second set, she took a 5:2 lead and closed the match without any problems.
For her third title of the competition tomorrow, Pegula will play against Alexandra Eala (Philippines), who eliminated No. 3 Naomi Osaka (Japan) 6:4, 6:2 in 78 minutes.
The Filipina made a decisive breakthrough in the ninth game on her way to victory in the first set, and in the second she reached two more breaks and won the match with her third match point.
On her way to the final, Eala eliminated the reigning champion Leila Fernandez (Canada) in the second round and No. 2 in the schedule Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) in the quarterfinals.