Coco Gauff’s eighth career meeting with Jessica Pegula was the pair’s third at the WTA Finals.
It was a rematch of this year’s Wuhan final, won by Gauff in straight sets. It was also a rollercoaster ride.
The errors and double-faults flew from Gauff’s racquet across the three-set battle, with Gauff displaying remarkable resiliency despite her struggles.
In the end her mental toughness couldn’t carry her to the finish line as Pegula locked down a hard-fought 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 victory at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, snapping a two-match losing streak to the two-time major champion.
A total of 13 breaks of serve – eight for Pegula – kept fans on the edge of their seats until Pegula finally opened a double-break lead in the final set.
“She honestly served really well,” Gauff said. “There were some times where she was getting a lot of free points. I just wanted to keep my focus in the third.
“It’s a fine balance with her where I feel lik you have to be aggressive but you also can’t overplay. She makes you have to execute things very well, and I’m just glad I was able to do that today.”
The Buffalo, NY native put an end to the drama there closing out her fifth career win over Gauff, converting her second match point to close out the victory in two hours and 12 minutes.
45 forehand unforced errors and 17 double-faults contributed to Gauff’s undoing, credit to her for making a match of it with those numbers.
Pegula said the conditions in Riyadh are quicker, which helped her today.
“Wuhan is really slow, super gritty,” she said. “Here there is a a little altitude and even though the ball bounces high I think my ball kind of skids through the court a little bit more, and I don’t think she could get it up on me as much as she wanted.”
Pegula continues her recent third-set mastery — she has now won nine of ten deciders since the US Open.
