Miami (AFP) – Defending champion Jessica Pegula clinched back-to-back victories at the WTA Charleston Open clay court tournament on Sunday, routing Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva in straight sets to claim her second title of the year. Top seed Pegula, who had gone to three sets in every round on her way to Sunday’s final, was in no mood to take the scenic route again as she sprinted to a 6-2, 6-2 victory in 1hr 22min against her 89th-ranked opponent. The Charleston victory follows Pegula’s win at Dubai in February and is the 11th title of the 32-year-old New Yorker’s career.
After an even start, Pegula seized control in the fifth game of the first set, grabbing the first break point of the match when Starodubtseva pulled a forehand wide. The Ukrainian saved that point but was quickly in trouble again, giving Pegula another break point with a rushed return, which the American converted for a 3-2 lead. After holding to go 4-2 up, Pegula then went a double-break ahead as more unforced errors from Starodubtseva proved costly.
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After comfortably serving out for the set, Pegula was soon on the offensive in the second, breaking Starodubtseva for a third time to go 1-0 up. Starodubtseva finally began to exert some pressure in the next game and twice carved out break points. But Pegula slammed the door shut to hold for 2-0 and then rammed home the advantage by breaking again for a 3-0 lead. Another break left her 5-0 up and serving for the match.
Starodubtseva finally showed some resilience to fight off three match points to grab her first break, making it 5-1. But Pegula made no mistake on her next service game, holding to love to wrap up victory.
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