Top-seeded Jessica Pegula rallied from a set down and beat fellow-American Amanda Anisimova 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) in a second-round match at the Charleston Open on Tuesday night.
Pegula had seven aces in the match and won despite capitalizing on 4 of 15 break points. Anisimova converted on 4 of 8 break points.
Pegula said Anisimova is tough to play because she is a great ball striker, and she can take the racket out of an opponent’s hands.
“I just kind of had to buckle down, and I think I started being a little bit more active with my feet and pressuring her a little bit more and being able to move her and kind of scrap out a few points as well,” Pegula said. “So, yeah, I just managed to find a way today, but it was a really great match, I thought, especially the last set was super high level.”
Third-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece also advanced to the third round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria, while Magda Linette of Poland lost the first set at love and came back to beat No. 13 seed
Dayana Yastremska of Bulgaria 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a second-round match.
Collins prevails
Earlier in the day, Miami Open champion Danielle Collins and Sloane Stephens won their first-round matches. Collins beat Paula Badosa 6-1, 6-4 at the clay-court tournament, while Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, defeated Magdalena Frech 6-0, 6-2.
Collins has disclosed this will be her last season on tour. She has endometriosis, an ailment that affects the uterus.
“I’d rather like to go out with a bang, you know, than the other way,” Collins said.
“I know everybody has a different way of ending their professional career, and for me I want to go out playing my best tennis.”
Stephens is playing on her favorite surface.
“It’s more athletic. It’s more running, more sliding, just a lot more adversity I feel like, but in a good way,” she said. “When you think the point is over, it’s never over.”
Other winners on Tuesday included Taylor Townsend, Astra Sharma, Caroline Dolehide, Ashlyn Krueger and Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
AP/PTI
