No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula just barely avoided suffering a surprise defeat in the Charleston Open semifinal and now she is set to meet meet Sofia Kenin in all-American final.
After making a very strong start against No. 9 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, Pegula lost the second set and also found herself 2-4 down in the third set. At that point, the home favorite was close to getting bounced. But fortunately for the No. 4 seed, she responded with breaks in the seventh and 11th games to overturn the deficit and ultimately get the job done in three sets 6-2 2-6 7-5.
In the other semifinal, world No. 44 Kenin opened a 5-2 lead against fellow American Amanda Anisimova before her rival was forced to retire due to a hip injury.
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Heading into the final, Pegula leads their head-to-head 3-2 and she also won their last meeting that came during last years US Open.
Pegula and Kenins reactions to making the Charleston final
In each of the last two years, Pegulas Charleston campaign ended in the semifinal. But today, she managed to make her breakthrough at the tournament.
Ive always felt like Ive played good tennis here and had good results. But I told myself in Miami I really want to go for the title this year. And I think I can do it, the No. 4 seed said.
Meanwhile, Kenin insisted that it was great to have an all-American final in Charleston.
Its great that one of us is going to hold the trophy -- and I hope Ill be the one, the former world No. 4 said ahead of the all-American final.
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After becoming a Grand Slam champion at the 2020 Australian Open, Kenin also won Lyon in March of that year. If she beats Pegula in the Charleston final, it will be the first title for the 26-year-old in five years.
