The semifinal match played between Pegula and defending champion Iga Swiatek was a contest marked by constant momentum shifts, with Pegula finally prevailing at 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. It was the sixth time that the USA's top-ranked player had defeated Swiatek (she is now 6-7 against the Polish star).
Pegula, known among fans as Ms. Consistency (and in Charleston, as Three-Set Jess) is known for her cool head and her patience--the win against Swiatek was Pegula's third consecutive three-set match, and her seventeenth of the season. "I think," Pegula said, "that it's the way that I play."
For her part, Gauff faced an obviously tired Bejlek, who simply did look like the player who had taken out Barbora Krejcikova, top seed Aryna Sabalenka, and Madison Keys. Was it a fitness issue, a heat issue, or--at least partly--an emotional reaction to suddenly being on a very big stage? Most likely, it was a little of each. It didn't help that Gauff put on what amounted to as an advanced tennis clinic during their match, winning eight of the last nine games, and thrilling spectators with her speed and variety.
Pegula is 5-4 against Gauff, with four of those matches played on hard courts.
Paths to the final:
COCO GAUFF (4) round 1--bye round 2--d. Liudmila Samsonova round 3--d. Ann Li (28) round 4--d. Marie Bouzkova (22) quarterfinals--d. Marta Kostyuk (10) semifinals--d. Sara Bejlek
JESSICA PEGULA (3) round 1--bye round 2--d. Simona Waltert round 3--d. Emma Navarro (25) round 4--d. Sorana Cirstea (15) quarterfinals--d. Amanda Anisimova (9) semifinals--d. Iga Swiatek (7)
And we have doubles champions: Marie Bouzkova and Linda Noskova defeated Magali Kempen and Alexandra Panova 6-1, 6-2 in the final. This is the Czech team's first title together.
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