Sabalenka knocks Pegula out of WTA Finals with group stage win
Sports
Aryna Sabalenka eliminated Jessica Pegula from the WTA Finals with a 6-3, 7-5 group stage victory.
FORTH WORTH (Reuters) - Aryna Sabalenka eliminated Jessica Pegula from the WTA Finals with a 6-3, 7-5 group stage victory on Friday and will have to wait to see how the match between Ons Jabeur and Maria Sakkari plays out to see if she reaches the semi-finals.
Belarusian world number seven Sabalenka, who finished the group stage with a 2-1 record, advances if Sakkari wins one set. If the Greek drops a set, or even loses in three sets, there are still mathematical possibilities for Sabalenka to progress.
Sabalenka made a blistering start, breaking Pegula to open the match and again for a 5-2 lead. World number three Pegula then fought off four set points to break straight back but Sabalenka broke to love in the next game to wrap up the set.
Pegula fell behind 2-0 in the second but fought back before Sabalenka, at 3-3, delivered a love hold and then came back from 40-15 down for a crushing service break before the top-ranked American returned the favour to extend the set.
But Sabalenka held to love for the third time in the set and fourth in the match for a 6-5 lead and then closed it out on her second match point when she ripped a backhand crosscourt winner.
"She s an amazing player and she made me really work tonight," Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. "Just happy that I was really focused from the beginning to the end and I was able to finish this match in two sets.
World number two Jabeur of Tunisia and No. 5 Sakkari are scheduled to begin their match at 8 p.m. ET (0000 GMT).
Second-ranked Tunisian Ons Jabeur could snag the second qualifying spot from the Nancy Richey Group with a straight-sets victory over fifth-ranked Maria Sakkari of Greece.
Sakkari is assured of finishing top of the group, and will face either France s Caroline Garcia or Daria Kasatkina in the final four.
With so much on the line, Sabalenka was dialed in from the start.
"I definitely was happy with my serve for the (first) half of the match," Sabalenka said. "I m just happy that I was really focused from the beginning to the end and I was able to finish this match in two sets."
Sabalenka, who improved to 4-1 against Pegula, took charge early and took full advantage of four first-set double faults from Pegula.
The second set was a more tightly contested affair, Pegula quickly erasing an early break as Sabalenka suddenly found herself struggling on serve.
Despite seven double faults in the second set, Sabalenka managed to keep it close and broke for a 5-3 lead to pile the pressure back on Pegula.
Pegula, who secured her spot in the elite season-ending event with her triumph at Guadalajara in October, responded with a service break of her own and leveled the set at 5-5, Sabalenka digging deep to win the last two games and polish it off in two sets.
