(Fort Worth) Maria Sakkari, semi-finalist of the previous edition, started the WTA tournament well, beating 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/4) the American Jessica Pegula, during of the Nancy Richey group’s first game on Monday in Fort Worth, Texas.
Posted at 9:26 p.m.
In the evening, Tunisia’s world No. 2 Ons Jabeur, a finalist at Wimbledon and the United States Open this season, will face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (No. 7).
Sakkari (no 5) and Pegula (no 3) initially made nice to each other, yielding their service three times, in turn. So much so that the Greek, who had each time broken first, had to wait for the decisive game to break away, converting her third set point.
At the start of the second round, she delighted the entry of her rival, who had beaten her two weeks ago in the final of the Masters 1000 in Guadalajara, to lead 3-0. But Pegula still managed to pick up the score.
In vain, because after saving two match points on her serve at 6-5, the American cracked again in the tiebreaker, sending the ball into the net on the third opportunity from Sakkari, who now leads 4- 2 in their confrontations.
“I am very happy to have imposed myself, the matches are never easy against Jessica. I had to fight and keep confidence in my game, ”she reacted hotly on the court, in a Dickies Arena which sounded hollow, with barely a thousand spectators present, the enclosure being able to accommodate 14,000.
Ranking of the Nancy Richey group
2. Maria Sakkari, No. 5 (Greece): 1 win, 0 loss, 2 sets, 2 games
3. Ons Jabeur, no 2 (Tunisia): 0 win, 0 loss, 0 set, 0 game
4. Aryna Sabalenka, #7 (Belarus): 0 win, 0 loss, 0 set, 0 game
1. Jessica Pegula, #3 (USA): 0 win, 1 loss, -2 innings, -2 games
If two players are tied, the result of their direct confrontation decides between them. If three players are tied, they are separated by the total number of sets won and lost, or even the total number of games won and lost if necessary.