Jessica Pegula, the third seed at Indian Wells, showed great resilience by winning her second consecutive comeback match on Saturday against Anastasia Potapova. Despite losing the first set 3-6, Pegula bounced back and secured a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over her opponent in a thrilling third-round match that lasted for more than two hours and 15 minutes.
During the match, Potapova had a higher first-serve percentage with a 65% win, compared to Pegula’s 56%. However, Pegula was able to convert five break points on Potapova’s serve, while Potapova only converted four. Pegula finished with 106 points while Potapova had 105.
Pegula attributed her win to playing smarter and improving the depth of her shots. She acknowledged that Potapova played well and recognized her opponent’s great skills. Pegula will face Petra Kvitova in the fourth round, who also had a tough third-round match against Jelena Ostapenko, winning 0-6, 6-0, 6-4.
Another seed who came from behind to win was Maria Sakkari, the seventh seed, who defeated Anhelina Kalinina in a match lasting for two-and-a-half hours. Sakkari’s next opponent will be Karolina Pliskova, the 17th seed, who won against Veronika Kudermetova in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5.