Jessica Pegula of the United States defeated Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-2 6-3 in the final of the Guadalajara Open Akron to win her second career title and first at a WTA 1000 tournament.
The third-seeded Pegula eliminated four Grand Slam champions en route to the final, including saving three match points in a third set tiebreak against reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in her opening match. Following a difficult opener, Pegula defeated Bianca Andreescu, Sloane Stephens, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sakkari in straight sets, dropping just 12 games in her last two matches in Guadalajara.
The fourth-seeded Sakkari was tired in Sunday’s final, as she had just about four hours of rest after finishing her rain-delayed semifinal against Marie Bouzkova. After the title match, even though she praised her opponent and said that she deserved the victory, Sakkari claimed that she was exhausted and didn’t have enough energy left in the tank to deliver her best performance.
The 28-year-old Pegula is now the player with the most WTA-1000 wins over the last two seasons (39). Moreover, the American has now posted a career-best 41 main-draw wins this season; only Iga Swiatek (62) and Ons Jabeur (46) have more to their names.
