Jessica Pegula fell victim to Anna Blinkova, who has been on a tear recently, in the second round of the 2024 Indian Wells Open.
The Russian player has been playing the best tennis of her life in recent months. At the Australian Open, Blinkova managed to shock Elena Rybakina, and at the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, she started with a win over former world no. 1 Karolina Pliskova.
In the second round of the event, she took on the fifth-seeded Pegula, who even had the backing of the home crowd, still the American couldn't produce a solid-enough performance to outplay her opponent.
In the opening set of the match, Blinkova was just too strong for the American player, denying her six break point chances, while converting two of her own four break points, to win the first set 6-2.
Still, it was Pegula who was favoured to win this match, likely even after losing the opening set, and in the second set of the match, she showed why she has been one of the most consistent players on the WTA Tour.
She used her chances and won all the important points, breaking her opponent on multiple occasions to win the second set 6-3 and force the decider in front of the excited crowd at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Yet, in the third set, Pegula proved to be no match for her opponent once again. The Russian got two early breaks, leading 5-1, and despite failing to serve out the match on the first try, she did it on the second try.
Blinkova won the match 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, recording yet another stunning victory against a Top 10 opponent, and advancing to the third round of the tournament, where she'll face a much more favourable opponent in Diane Parry, who outplayed the 29th-seeded Leylah Fernandez.
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