Jessica Pegula dominated the first set of her Charleston Open semifinal match against Ekaterina Alexandrova, but she still made the ending harder than it should have been. This likely will not affect her performance in the final, though. The work was still relatively short.
What was most shocking about Pegula's onslaught in the first set, which saw her lead 5-0 before she took the set 6-2, was that she lost no games. She was hitting crisply, while Alexandrova, who had had a wonderful tournament before the semis, struggled to do much of anything. However, she was able to break Pegula at love in the sixth game of the set, which would be difficult to replicate.
Pegula was playing well, but Alexandrova helped her by hitting more unforced errors than winners. It was a perfect storm for the Russian and one she was unlikely to weather. She did make a concerted effort not to give up easily, though. This has been an electric run for her in Charleston, and losing one set is not the end of the match.
Jessica Pegula defeats Ekaterina Alexandrova in the semis of the Charleston Open
In many ways, this was the reverse of Pegula's quarterfinal match against Danielle Collins. Collins destroyed her fellow American in the first set 6-1, but Pegula was able to rebound and take the match. For a bit of time in the second set, Alexandrova might have been changing the course of the outcome. For instance, her serve was better after landing less than 50 percent of her first serves in set one.
In the second set, Pegula's first serve was less sharp. The issue was compounded by her extremely weak second serve, which was seemingly meant to land in, instead of doing real damage.
Pegula even broke character while being broken to give the lead to Alexandrova 4-2 in set two. Typically, Pegula is non-emotional. After being broken, she hit a ball hard to the ground and voiced her frustration. When Pegula reacts this way, it might be more telling than a player who is usually overtly frustrated.
After trailing 0-5 in the first set, Alexandrova won eight of the next 11 games to change to course of the match. Pegula's slow second serve was a mistake, and the Russian began to get the timing down of the American's other shots.
But then the third set occurred, and reality set back in for both players. Alexandrova served to start the set and began missing her first serve again, and Pegula got the break. Then Alexandrova broke right back. It turned into a match of who would be least to lose it instead of who would win.
The Russian got another break to lead 3-1, but then she was broken and Pegula got the final set back to 2-3. Each player was missing easy shots, but playing brilliant tennis on other points. These things happen in a tournament when matches are played day after day.
Some things were beginning to hold. If Pegula could not land her first serve, Alexandrova could tee off on the second serve. The American has to find a way to improve her second serve to have any chance of ever winning a Grand Slam; otherwise, she will continue to be punished by powerful players. Between the second and third sets, Alexandrova broke Pegula five times in a row at one point.
Another thing holding true was that neither player could hold serve with ease, if at all. Alexandrova led 4-2 after another break of Pegula, but then the American got the break back. It was not beautiful tennis, but a wonderful display of defense.
At the end of the third set, each player finally began to hold their own serve. The games were tense and not clean, but after Alexandrova came back from break point in the ninth game of the set, she led 5-4.
The point that could have cemented the outcome of the match could have come with Pegula leading 40-30 on serve trailing 4-5 but Alexandrova in control of the rally on the final point. She hit the ball long when she did not need to and Pegula held to even the set 5-all.
The following game was exceedingly long, but Pegula got the break. She only needed to hold to move to the finals, which she did 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. She will next face Amanda Anisimova or Sofia Kenin in the Charleston Open final.