Jessica Pegula was on the brink of suffering a straight-set defeat to Emma Raducanu in the Beijing third round, but pulled off a miraculous escape after saving three match points and completing a 3-6 7-6 (9) 6-0 win in just less than two and a half hours of play.
Raducanu made the first move, breaking Pegula twice to take the first set, and the 30th-seeded Briton also earned a break early on in the third set. However, the fifth-seeded American refused to quit as she managed to get the break back and ultimately force a tie-break. In the second-set tie-break, the British tennis player went 5-2 up. Just when it seemed that the match would soon be over, the 2024 US Open finalist delivered some heroics and saved three match points before realizing her second set point to send the match into a third set.
Raducanu never recovered from failing to convert multiple match points as Pegula dominated the third set and registered a bagel to complete her comeback in an impressive fashion. The Briton won only 12 points during the decider. Also, it is worth mentioning that the 22-year-old blew three match points in a Seoul loss to Barbora Krejcikova two weeks ago.
Jessica Pegula saves three match points in the 2nd set tiebreak and comes back to beat Emma Raducanu 3-6, 7-6(9), 6-0 and reach the last 16 in Beijing.
Emma is playing well, but loses from MPs up in back to back weeks. Disappeared in the 3rd set, winning just 12 points. pic.twitter.com/TrD33kUapt
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) September 29, 2025
Who is Pegula's next rival in Beijing?
For a place in the Beijing quarterfinal, Pegula will take on 23rd-seeded Marta Kostyuk, who defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich. So far, they have met four times and the American leads their head-to-head 3-1, including a 6-2 6-3 win collected on the hard courts of Miami earlier this year.
If the 31-year-old American wins, she will make her first Beijing quarterfinal.
