Wuhan WTA 1000: Pegula Survives in Extremis Against Baptiste in Second Round

Jessica Pegula, who had a first-round bye, nearly fell in her opening match in Wuhan.

After missing three match points against Linda Noskova in the semifinals of the Beijing WTA 1000, Jessica Pegula made her debut at the Wuhan WTA 1000 in recent hours.

Facing her compatriot Hailey Baptiste, ranked 55th in the world, the American hoped to maintain her unbeaten record against her opponent of the day, having won both of their only previous encounters.

The 31-year-old player struggled immensely to impose her rhythm consistently in this match. With a total of fourteen breaks (seven for each player), the match was decided by just a few points.

But, with experience and on her sixth match point, the world No. 6 ultimately had the final say (6-4, 4-6, 7-6 in 2 hours and 55 minutes of play). Pegula advances to the round of 16, where she will face Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The Russian, ranked 11th in the world, confirmed her first-round success against Victoria Mboko (6-3, 6-2) and this time eliminated Ann Li (7-6, 6-2). In head-to-head matchups, Alexandrova leads 3 wins to 2, and the two players will face off for the fourth time this season.