Wuhan, China, Oct 9 (AP) Jessica Pegula fought back from an early service break in the third set on Thursday to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, and secure her place in the quarterfinals at the Wuhan Open.
Pegula, who was a semifinalist at the China Open the previous week, equalized the deciding set at 2-2 before clinching victory by taking four of the last five games.
The victory over the No. 9 seed Alexandrova followed Pegula's win in a grueling second round, where she overcame fellow American Hailey Baptiste after seven match points.
On the main court later that day, US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka was set to take on Liudmila Samsonova. Samsonova, ranked No. 16, recently overcame 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
Sitting atop the rankings, Sabalenka has amassed an impressive 18-match winning streak at the Wuhan Open, having claimed titles in 2018, 2019, and 2024.
The evening matches featured No. 2 Iga Swiatek scheduled to challenge Belinda Bencic, and No. 3 Coco Gauff, who recently fell to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova in the China Open semifinals, set to compete against Zhang Shuai.
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