Jessica Pegula beat Marta Kostyuk 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 in a match that finished past midnight to become the fourth US player to reach the quarter final at this year’s edition of the China Open.
Pegula went up a break twice in the first and fifth games, but Kostyuk pulled back on serve both times to draw level to 3-3. Pegula earned two more breaks in the seventh and ninth games to win the first set 6-3.
Kostyuk earned a break in the seventh game of the second set and held serve at 30 to take a 5-3 lead, but she missed out on three consecutive set points in the ninth game. Pegula broke back in the 10th game, as Kostyuk was not able to serve out for the set. Kostyuk won three consecutive points from 4-4 to win the tie-break 7-4. Pegula raced out to a 4-0 lead with two breaks of serve before breaking again in the seventh game to win the third set 6-1.
