Jessica Pegula storms past Maria Sakkari to win her first WTA 1000 title in Guadalajara, Mexico
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ByEurosport
Updated 24/10/2022 at 08:55 GMT
Jessica Pegula had to save three match points in her opening match of the tournament before prevailing against Elena Rybakina in Guadalajara, but that hard-fought victory kickstarted a remarkable week which saw the world No. 5 finish with her first WTA 1000 title of her career after beating Maria Sakkari in 70 minutes. Pegula dedicated the tournament win to her mother after the match.
'Super excited, relieved, happy' - Pegula after winning her first WTA 1000 title in Guadalajara
Jessica Pegula has won her first WTA 1000 title with a 6-2 6-3 win over Maria Sakkari at the Guadalajara Open.
It capped off a fine week for the American No. 3 seed who knocked out four Grand Slam champions in a row - Elena Rybakina, Bianca Andreescu, Sloane Stephens and Victoria Azarenka - en route to her second career singles title.
"I’m just super excited, relieved, happy, like all the emotions," Pegula said after her victory.
"Dedicating it to my mom was extra special, I know she was watching back home.
"Just a lot of emotions, but super excited just to get a big title next to my name.
"That was something I really wanted this year, and I kept saying it was one of my goals, so to be able to accomplish it at the end of the year is really cool.
"I thought I just played really solid, I didn’t really make a lot of silly errors or stupid decisions. I served really smart, I returned well.
"There were a lot of different points where I had to maybe slice and come in, or serve and volley, or do something different.
"I just didn’t panic, I just kind of did what I had to do to win the point, and it was working."
Pegula's power and aggression from the baseline proved too much for No.4 seed Sakkari, hitting 11 winners compared to the Greek's nine with the latter also producing 25 unforced errors.
It was Sakkari's second match of the day as she had to finish off her rain delayed semi-final four hours prior against Marie Bouzkova - which she won 7-5 6-4 - and her tiredness showed.
Both players were tied at 2-2 in the first set before Pegula raced away by winning 16 of the next 19 points to seal the opener without facing a break point.
Momentum was firmly with Pegula in the second as she twice broke the Sakkari serve to take a 5-2 lead.
Sakkari did pull a break back, but Pegula responded by setting up triple championship point and sealed the title on her first match point.
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