Jessica Pegula advances to the third round in Wuhan with a tight win over Baptiste

WUHAN, China (AP) — Jessica Pegula was twice broken while serving for the match in the third set but recovered to edge Hailey Baptiste in a tight tiebreaker Wednesday and advance at the Wuhan Open.

Sixth-seeded Pegula beat her fellow American 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) on her seventh match point to reach the third round.

Pegula, who lost in the China Open semifinals last week, will next play ninth-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, who beat American Ann Li 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Qualifier Kateřina Siniaková beat Maya Joint 6-3, 6-1 in another second-round match.

U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, No. 3 Coco Gauff and 11th-seeded Naomi Osaka were scheduled to play later Wednesday.

Top-ranked Sabalenka, who took a Greek holiday after her second consecutive win at Flushing Meadows, withdrew from last week’s China Open, another WTA 1000-olve event.

“I feel good,” Sabalenka said on her arrival in Wuhan. “I just didn’t want to rush my body into the tournament. So I think we made the right decision to take extra time for recovery and for the preparation. Physically, I feel ready to go.”

Sabalenka has had an amazing run in Wuhan — her record is 17-0 while winning titles in 2018, 2019 and 2024.

On Tuesday, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, the runner-up at both the U.S. Open and Wimbledon this year, withdrew from the Wuhan tournament citing a left calf muscle injury after winning the China Open title.

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis