Jessica Pegula has won Berlin and her fifth WTA title after impressively saving five match points in the final versus Anna Kalinskaya.
Pegula, seeded at No. 4, lost the first set in a brutal way before coming back from a set down to beat world No. 24 Kalinskaya 6-7 (0) 6-4 7-6 (3).
For Pegula, this was her first WTA title on grass but also her first title of the season. On the other side, 25-year-old Kalinskaya fell just short of landing her first WTA title.
Fourth-seeded Pegula got off to a great start to the Berlin final, claiming an early break for a 3-0 lead. But from that moment, the first set became full of ups and downs on both sides as Pegula was three times up by a break in the first set but Kalinskaya three times recovered to force a tie-break.
After Pegula blew three breaks and failed to close out the first set despite leading 5-3 lead, Kalinskaya won the tie-break without a lost point to pretty much steal the first set from the fourth-seeded American.
Pegula’s comeback against Kalinskaya then started
The second set then started just as the first set, with the American breaking Kalinskaya early but the Russian getting a break back to tie the set to three games apiece.
But…
