Jessica Pegula left frustrated as Elena Rybakina roars back for supreme win

• Rybakina completes 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback win

• American slumps to fifth straight defeat to Kazakhstani

Jessica Pegula had her chances. Midway through the second set of yet another enormous match with Elena Rybakina, the American had engineered a flawless start. After bulldozing through the opening set, Pegula’s level at the beginning of set two put her in with a fair shot of snatching a win against her Kazakhstani opponent, who has dominated their recent meetings.

Instead, Pegula departed Miami with another tough lesson to parse through after being shown once again that the best players in the world pounce on even the smallest drops in intensity. Despite her mediocre start, Rybakina produced a brilliant comeback to reach the Miami Open semi-finals with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.

Continue reading…