Pegula Destroys Samsonova Despite Controversy To Clinch Montreal Title

Jessica Pegula won her second WTA 1000 title when she defeated Liudmila Samsonova in the 2023 Canadian Open final in Montreal.

Previously, the American won a temporary WTA 1000 tournament in Guadalajara on tennis courts that no one was really familiar with, but this time around, Pegula won one of the most prominent tournaments on the WTA Tour.

On her way to the final, the 29-year-old best some of the best players in the world. She outplayed her doubles partner Coco Gauff, and Pegula managed to beat also the world no. 1 Iga Swiatek to reach the final in Canada.

However, the final wasn't without a minor controversy. Already on Saturday, some fans were saying that the organizers could already hand the trophy to the American, and in the end, they weren't wrong as Pegula capitalized on her advantage.

While she could play her semifinal match on Saturday, her final opponent didn't get a chance to do that, and exhaustion certainly influenced the final match as Samsonova had to battle in three sets against Elena Rybakina in the semifinal that was played only a couple of hours before the final match began. 

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While Samsonova certainly couldn't perform at her best, Pegula also didn't make her life any easier. At times, the American seemed to be almost unstoppable and after both players won one game each at the start of the match to make it 1-1, it was a one-way traffic.

Since then, the American won eleven consecutive games to win the match 6-1, 6-0, and win the 2023 Canadian Open in Montreal, equalling her best-ever title. Moreover, Pegula's triumph also means that she will remain the world no. 3 in the WTA Rankings, earning enough points to stay ahead of Elena Rybakina, who would have skipped her if the American didn't win the title.

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