Number 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova beat Jessica Pegula 6-0 6-4 in just less than one hour and a half to reach the semifinal at the Porsche Indoor Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
Alexandrova won the first seven games to build up a 6-0 1-0 lead. The Russian player converted her third break point in the sixth game to open up a 5-2 lead.
Pegula saved three match point in the eighth game and pulled back on serve in the ninth game to reduce the gap to 4-5. Pegula fended off two more match points in the 10th game, but Alexandrova broke again on the sixth match point in the 10thgame to seal the win.
Alexandrova avenged her recent defeat against Pegula, who beat her Russian rival 6-2 2-6 7-5 in the semifinal of the Charleston Open earlier this month.
Alexandrova, who beat Indian Wells champion Mirra Andreeva in the previous round, will face either Iga Swiatek or Jelena Ostapenko.
Alexandrova now leads 3-2 in her five head-to-head matches against Pegula. Alexandrova had already beaten Pegula in two previous WTA 1000 quarter finals in Miami 2024 and Doha 2025.
Pegula had predicted a tough match against Alexandrova coming into the Stuttgart quarter final match.
Jessica Pegula: “She’s going to be really tough. The last few times I have played her, every time I have played her, has been just an absolute war, battle. We just played in Charleston. It was a crazy match. Honestly, I probably should have lost the match but was able to pull it out”.
