Until this week Jessica Pegula has only won one Tour title and was yet to play in the final of a WTA event ranked higher than an International (now known as a WTA 250).
However, this has changed at the Madrid Open where the American 12th seed has exceeded expectations. Capitalizing on a rollercoaster draw which saw a series of top players crash out in the early rounds, Pegula has dropped only one set en route to the final and is yet to play a seeded player. Among those who she defeated are former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu and Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Pegula’s latest victory saw her edge out Switzerland’s Jill Teichmann 6-3, 6-4, in a late-night semi-final encounter on Thursday. In both sets she broke the world No.35 twice and won 66% of her service points. The victory makes Pegula only the third American woman to reach the final in Madrid after both of the Williams sisters.
“[Teichmann is] a super tricky lefty,” Pegula told wtatennis.com. “It was hard because I felt like I couldn’t get a rhythm, really. Maybe the start of the first set she came out a little nervous and I was able to come out strong, which helped, but it was just tricky.”
Pegula’s run to her maiden final of a WTA 1000 event comes during what has been a recent run of good form. Prior to Madrid, she also reached the semi-finals of the Miami Open and was a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open for the second time in her career. This week she is at a career ranking high of 14th in the world.
Awaiting Pegula in the title match will be Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur who is also through to the final of a WTA 1000 event for the first time. Jabeur’s Madrid campaign has seen her score back-to-back wins over Belinda Bencic and Simona Halep. In the semi-finals she swept aside Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 6-3.
Both women have slowly risen up the rankings over the past couple years. Jabeur is just six months older than her American peer. Going into the 2020 season Jabeur was ranked 77th in the WTA world and Pegular was one spot ahead 76th. They have previously played against each other four times on the Tour with their head-to-head split at 2-2. All of those meetings were on a hardcourt.
“For me and Ons…she was ranked [in the seventies] like two years ago, I think I was like the same, so it’s pretty crazy,” said Pegula. “It just shows you, hard work and determination, playing week in and week out, just trying to get better every week, you can get to the top as long as you believe it. So I think it’s great for both of us. It means a lot to me.”
Jabeur has a chance to become the first Arab woman in history to win a WTA 1000 event since the series began in what will be yet another milestone for her. She is already the first female player from her region to break inside the world’s top 10, win a WTA title and reach the quarter-finals of a major event.
“Jess plays really good. I watched how she was patient with Sara. It’s a tough match. I know she’s playing good today. She’s an aggressive player,” Jabeur said of Pegula.
“I’m going to do what I did in Dubai (Jabeur beat Pegula 6-3, 6-1). Whatever worked for me in Dubai is probably going to work here in the final.”
Regardless of the outcome, this week is the first time Pegula has won five straight matches at a clay court tournament.
The Madrid Open women’s final will take place on Saturday.
