In a nail-biting showdown on Saturday, Jessica Pegula emerged victorious against top-ranked Iga Swiatek to secure her spot in the Omnium Banque Nationale final. The 29-year-old American exhibited remarkable determination by breaking Swiatek’s serve a total of 11 times during the intense three-set match. The final score was 6-2 6-7(4) 6-4.
Both players had trouble holding serves, with Swiatek also managing to break Pegula’s serve eight times. The match witnessed a total of only 11 successful service games out of 30 combined.
“I was getting frustrated that I wasn’t holding,” Pegula spoke about the challenges she encountered. “But then at the same time I knew she was having trouble holding as well. I was just like, ‘I know I’ll get more chances if I can just … hold.’ Basically, it was whoever could kind of consolidate the break.”
The match lasted 2 hours and 30 minutes, with Pegula sealing her victory by breaking Swiatek’s serve one final time. Notably, Pegula had a chance to conclude the match earlier, serving with a 5-4 lead in the second set. However, Swiatek’s resilience came through as she broke Pegula’s serve and eventually claimed the set in a tiebreaker.
Pegula contemplated whether the service struggles could be attributed to the new Wilson extra…
