Jessica Pegula has kept herself in contention at the WTA Finals with a crucial victory over Marta Kostyuk.
Pegula was beaten by Coco Gauff in her opening match in Group 1, but has recovered to beat Kostyuk 6-2, 7-5. The result means she remains with a chance of reaching the knockout stages, while Kostyuk’s hopes have now been ended. Kostyuk is a WTA Finals alternate following the withdrawal of Elena Rybakina, the world number one and defending champion.
American ace Pegula has since spoken of the win, disclosing the changes she made to help battle past her Ukrainian opponent. The WTA superstar will be hopeful of repeating the success in her final group stage match against Linda Noskova, who has already qualified for the semifinals.
Jessica Pegula discloses changes after WTA Finals win vs Marta Kostyuk
Speaking to Tennis Channel in Indian Wells, the WTA Finals home favourite explained: “She has had an amazing year and she definitely turned our previous matches around this year, beating me a couple of times. She has been really tricky for me.
“I think I was a little bit more patient with her today. My game is hard. I like to take it early and take it quickly off the baseline, but sometimes I do need to give myself a bit more time against girls that get really good when the pace is just coming at them at the same rhythm and the same time. I think all the girls are such great ball strikers that any sort of rhythm, they can play much better.
“So I have been changing the pace of the ball a bit here and there. Learning how to change pace on the serve a bit, being able to hit the kick or the slice and then go for the flat one, rather than the same ball every single time, I think that was important against her.
“It doesn’t mean that it is always going to work but I think it gives me the best chance against her. She is such a great mover so to get her to not move is sometimes better. She loves to play with the angles and change line and when she is on the stretch she is such a good athlete, she has so much power. So I tried to restrict that a bit, which can be a bit more boring tennis for me.”
The approach certainly worked for Pegula, who was beaten by Kostyuk in Brisbane and Madrid this year, both in straight sets. Despite those defeats, the American still holds the bragging rights in their head-to-head, which now stands at 5-3.
READ MORE: Jessica Pegula issues apology to Mirra Andreeva and Coco Gauff as WTA release statement
Marta Kostyuk excited for WTA Finals match against ‘unbelievable’ Coco Gauff
While Pegula takes on Noskova in the final round of matches, her fellow American Gauff will meet Kostyuk. And despite the Ukrainian having been eliminated from knockout round contention, she remains excited for the upcoming challenge.
“Oh she destroyed me in Cincinnati,” Kostyuk said of Gauff. “I had absolutely no chance in that match. Hopefully I’ll get more chances on Thursday and the match will be closer. But yeah it’s going to be a great match. She’s an unbelievable player and I’m excited.”
The players have met six times throughout their careers, with Gauff claiming four wins. That includes a 6-2, 6-2 triumph in the quarterfinals of this year’s Cincinnati Open. The American superstar went all the way at the tournament, defeating compatriot Pegula in the final.
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Esta notícia foi originalmente publicada em: Fonte original