Qatar TotalEnergies Open: Jessica Pegula notches easy path into SF

Jessica Pegula reached the semi-finals of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open on Thursday. The second seed from the US defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 6-2 in an hour and 25 minutes in their quarter-final clash.

Pegula had 22 winners, 10 more than her opponent from Brazil. She also had 16 unforced errors, four fewer than Haddad Maiaā€™s 20. The world no. 4 won 65% of her first-serve points and 64% of her second-serve points. Haddad Maia won 51% of her first-serve and 52% of her second-serve points. Pegula also went on to save two of the three break points she faced while converting four break points on Haddad Maiaā€™s serve.

Qatar TotalEnergies Open: Maria Sakkari, Veronika Kudermetova outlast rivals

This is the first time Pegulaā€™s reached the semi-finals of a WTA tournament this year. Looking to reach her first final of the year, the 28-year-old will play fifth seed Maria Sakkari. The Greek ousted third seed Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(5) in their quarter-final match-up after two hours and 41 minutes of play.

The Frenchwoman had more winners as compared to the Greek ā€“ 43 to the latterā€™s 30. But her 44 unforced errors let her down. In comparison, Sakkari had only fewer than half that number at 21.

After the win, Sakkari said, ā€œThe conditions were very tough for both of us. I think we did a really good job in the second set of holding our serves and not giving the opponent a chance to break. You don’t see that often in women’s tennis. It was pretty impressive. That third-set tiebreak was something special. I was brave, when in the second-set tiebreak I wasn’t, and I’m just very happy.ā€

Meanwhile, at the top of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open draw, eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova will play top seed Iga Swiatek for a chance to reach the final. Kudermetova needed slightly more than two hours to post a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win over fourth seed Coco Gauff in their last-eight meeting.