Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – World number four Jessica Pegula powered to her first WTA title of 2025 on Sunday, beating McCartney Kessler 7-5, 6-2 in an all-American final in Austin, Texas. Pegula, the top seed, claimed a seventh WTA title and her first since she won the 1000 event in Toronto last year. That was one of Pegula’s two titles in a 2024 campaign in which she also reached the US Open final.
In Kessler, she stopped a fast-rising talent, whose first two WTA finals had yielded a pair of titles — in Cleveland last August and at Hobart in January. The 25-year-old arrived in Austin riding high after claiming her first career top-10 player with an upset of Coco Gauff in the second round at Dubai. But she couldn’t find a way past Pegula, who snapped a three-match losing streak in finals for a confidence-building crown heading into the prestigious hard court tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami.
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Pegula, the only top-10 player in the draw, dropped just one set all week. Kessler looked set to change that when she rallied from 0-2 down to take a 4-2 lead in the first set. But too many unforced errors from Kessler allowed Pegula to get back in front, and after Kessler missed a chance to break in the 11th game, she was broken in the next as Pegula pocketed the first set. Kessler broke Pegula to open the second, but Pegula won the next four games to seize control.
© 2024 AFP
