Washington (AFP) – Jessica Pegula took advantage of a dramatic collapse by Sofia Kenin to claim her second title of the season with a 6-3, 7-5 victory in the WTA Charleston Open final on Sunday.
After dropping the opening set, Kenin looked poised to force a decider after breaking Pegula’s serve three times to race into a 5-1 lead in the second set. But the unseeded American’s composure unraveled in a sea of unforced errors, allowing Pegula to reel off six straight games to clinch her second win of the year following her victory at the ATX Open in Austin last month.
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The 31-year-old Pegula showed great character to save three set points in the eighth game of the second before claiming a break of serve to narrow the deficit to 5-3. She then held to make it 5-4 and secured another service break to level.
A rock-solid service — sealed with an ace — left Pegula 6-5 up, with Kenin at a loss to halt her compatriot’s momentum. She quickly raced into a 0-30 lead and when Kenin smacked a lazy forehand long, she was presented with three match points. Kenin never looked like turning things around and she promptly double-faulted to hand Pegula victory.
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