Elena Rybakina defeated Jessica Pegula over three sets on Wednesday to advance to her third semifinal at the Miami Open.
The No. 3 seed fought through a match that lasted two hours and 15 minutes to beat No. 5 Pegula 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, her fifth straight win against the American in seven months.
The Australian Open champion will now face either world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, whom she defeated in the first Grand Slam final of the year, or Hayley Baptiste.
“The match against Jessica is always very difficult,” Rybakina said after the match. “She started playing well, so I was a little rushed and frustrated, but I’m glad I managed to bounce back and come back in the second set. After that, we were just battling, and the early break helped me a little bit.”
“I got lucky a few times. I was trying to get a little closer to the net, but Jessica plays so fast and sometimes plays so short that it wasn’t easy to just stay down. I had to adapt a little bit.”
Rybakina started the match slowly, committing 12 unforced errors in the first set as Pegula built a 4-0 advantage.
The decisive moment came in the fifth game of the second game, when Pegula converted three break points at 2-2, giving Rybakina the momentum in her favor and clinching the set.
Rybakina progressed from there, winning the deciding set and finishing the match with 15 aces, but only scored 98 points compared to Pegula’s 100 points.
The first women’s semi-final will take place on Thursday, with Coco Gauff facing Karolina Muchova.
The Miami Open runs through March 29th. Watch the ATP Tour and WTA Tour live on Sky Sports. Stream now with no contract.
