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Pegula beats Kostyuk to keep her semifinal hopes alive

Jessica Pegula defeated Marta Kostyuk in straight sets at the season-ending tournament in Indian Wells, California, recovering from her opening loss to Coco Gauff. The result kept the American in contention for the semifinals and eliminated Kostyuk. Pegula next faces Linda Noskova, who had beaten Kostyuk in the opening round.

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Jessica Pegula serving on the outdoor hard court at the tennis stadium in Indian Wells, California.

Pegula stays in the semifinal race

Jessica Pegula defeated Marta Kostyuk in the second round of group matches at the Women’s Tennis Association season-ending Finals in Indian Wells, California, in the United States. The victory on Tuesday kept Pegula in contention for a semifinal place and eliminated Kostyuk. Both players had entered the match after losing their opening group fixtures on Sunday, leaving each needing a response to stay in the knockout race.[1], [2]

Pegula won 6-2, 7-5 in one hour and twenty-nine minutes. Her opening defeat had come against fellow American Coco Gauff, while Kostyuk had lost to Linda Noskova. A second consecutive defeat without winning a set ended the Ukrainian player’s prospects of advancing, though she still has one group match to play. Pegula’s final group opponent on Thursday will be Noskova, in a repeat of their Berlin final.[1]

Nine opening points put Pegula ahead

Pegula took the first nine points, breaking Kostyuk’s serve without conceding a point in the opening game. She completed the first set in half an hour. Kostyuk made 17 unforced errors in that set, compared with just 3 from Pegula. The American later credited her improved serving against an opponent she described as an aggressive returner, saying she had worked on handling that pressure. She landed 60% of first serves and won 76% of points behind them.[1]

Kostyuk became more competitive in the second set and broke serve twice. She held at 5-4 with an important ace after facing break-point chances. A late double fault then gave Pegula the opportunity to serve out the match. Kostyuk finished with 9 double faults, bringing her total over the first two group matches to 15.[1]

A wrist injury precedes Kostyuk’s exit

Kostyuk had beaten Pegula in both their previous meetings this year, in Brisbane and Madrid. Her preparation for the Finals was affected by a right-wrist injury during the Asian swing. She said the opening match against Noskova came on only her second day without pain and had discussed adjusting her serve during the offseason. Kostyuk closes her group programme against Gauff on Thursday.[1]

References

  1. News sourceWTAJessica Pegula beats Kostyuk to stay in semifinal contention↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5
  2. News sourceArab NewsJessica Pegula beats Kostyuk to stay in semifinal contention↩

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