Elina Svitolina reached her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Indian Wells since becoming a mother and it happened in some style as the No. 23 seed impressively came back from a set down to beat in-form Jessica Pegula 5-7 6-1 6-2.
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Early in the match, the Ukrainian recovered from a break down but the fourth-seeded American earned another break in the 11th game before serving out for the opener in the following game.
After losing the first set in such a tough way, some would think that Svitolina would get discouraged. But it was the complete opposite as the former world No. 3 upped her game and easily bagged the second set with two breaks of serve.
The Ukrainian continued her run at the start of the decider, breaking Pegula in the very first game of the final set. But then, rain started falling and a three-hour delay ensued. When they finally returned to the court, the 30-year-old continued where she left off as she registered another break in the fifth game for a double-break lead before serving out for the match three games later.
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Going into the match, Pegula - who won the WTA 250 tournament in Austin - had been on a seven-match winning streak.
Now, Svitolina awaits the winner of the match between Elena Rybakina and Mirra Andreeva.
Svitolina ends Pegula's hopes of landing an Indian Wells title for US women's tennis
In the desert, there hasn't been an American female winner since Serena Williams won the event in 2001. When Indian Wells started last week, the 2024 US Open finalist said she would like to put an end to that drought.
"I think it would be awesome just because there are so many massive tennis fans that come to this tournament. I think this is one of the tournaments that fans, it's kind of on their bucket list. Even though it's not a slam, it's definitely up there as kind of being a prestigious tournament to win," Pegula said last week.
