By Erik Gudris | Thursday, March 4, 2021
American qualifier Jessica Pegula swept second-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-1 powering into her first WTA 500-level semifinal at the Qatar Total Open.
Photo credit: Qatar Total Open Facebook
Tennis is a game of angles.
Jessica Pegula’s mastery of symmetry continues helping her create solutions against all challengers in Doha.
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Qualifier Pegula powered through eight of the last nine games stopping second-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-1 to reach her first WTA 500-level semifinal at the Qatar Total Tennis Open.
It was Pegula’s sixth straight win and her second Top 10 victory of 2021 following her conquest of fifth-ranked Elina Svitolina en route to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open.
Rising to that career peak in Melbourne, Pegula nearly flat-lined in Doha qualifying. On the brink of elimination, Pegula battled by 19-year-old Russian Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 6-7(3), 7-6(6).
That tough test in qualifying has been liberating. Since that tough test in qualifying, Pegula has unleashed her aggression roaring through eight straight sets into a semifinal showdown vs. Petra Kvitova.
“Definitely a confidence builder. I had a really tough match my second-round quallies against Potapova, and honestly, I probably should have lost,” Pegula said. “I think after that match I decided to just use that confidence of scraping out that match to, you know, play really aggressive and step in and just go for my shots.
“So I actually think that match, second-round quallies, really helped me to this point and why I’m playing pretty well right now. I’m just happy that I scraped out some matches. Then today it kind of felt like everything was kind of going my way.”
The 26-year-old American played with more energy and urgency against Pliskova, who was clearly drained by her 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win over Ons Jabeur that ended late Wednesday night.
Returning to action about 16 hours later, Pliksova lacked the legs to push play in the second set. Pegula pounded returns down the line winning 16 of 21 points played on Pliskova’s second serve and breaking serve five times.
Creating the right balance between her offensive ambition and the sharper defensive skills she’s developed improving her fitness and court coverage has been key to Pegula playing some of the most dynamic tennis of her career.
“Australia and here I have been playing really aggressive, whereas last year at the US Open I definitely wasn’t playing as aggressive,” Pegula said. “I actually wasn’t really feeling that confident in my game, but I was figuring out ways to win. I think because I’m moving so much better that I was relying a lot on my movement and my defense.
“So I think now I’m almost kind of balancing both of those aspects of my game, whereas before I wasn’t really a good mover, like my footwork wasn’t really that great. So it’s pretty cool to see how much better I have gotten at that, and now I can add that into my game. So I think right now I’m just kind of balancing both of them really well and definitely serving better.”
Earlier, Victoria Azarenka overcame back pain sweeping top-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4. Azarenka advanced to her 60th career semifinal beating Svitolina for the fourth time in as many meetings.
It wasn’t easy.
The eighth-seeded Azarenka took a medical timeout for back treatment during the second game, rarely exceeded 85 mph on her serve and spent most changeovers standing in front of her court-side seat concerned her back could lock up if she sat for an extended period.
“Honestly, I have no idea [how I won],” Azarenka said in her on-court interview. “I unfortunately felt the pain this morning and then I felt it was better and than in the warm-up I felt a really sharp pain and I was really worried.
“Honestly I have to thank the crowd. If it was an empty stadium, it would have been really hard to push. But I tried my best. I really tried to focus on what I can do and not to think about anything else and try to find a solution and use every opportunity I can find to play.”
Assuming Azarenka’s back responds to treatment, the top-half semifinal is a clash of Grand Slam champions as Azarenka faces two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza, who beat Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-1.
“I didn’t necessarily feel better in the match, but I think what was very helpful for me is to focus on things what I was able to do rather than anything else and what was not working,” Azarenka said afterward.
“I think that sometimes that kind of clouds your judgment and clouds your thinking when you are enduring pain and difficulty that, you know, you’re not focused on things that are there to find solutions.”
No. 4-seeded Kvitova defeated Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in a match that featured 16 service breaks. One of four former champions in the field, Kvitova reached her second straight Doha semifinal.
“I’m really glad that after losing the second set, which I didn’t play the best probably, I started very well in the third and, you know, was important, the first break in the first game of the third set,” Kvitova said. “I learned probably that the return was pretty good from my side, I would say. I was going for it, first point, first shot, and that’s I think it’s made a little bit the big difference because it was the key of it.
“In the rally, it was 50/50 and anybody could do it, but when I put the pressure from the return, it was really very nice. It was tough to hold the serve, for sure. The conditions were different and tough, I would say. I’m glad that I won my last service game, for sure.”