The American tennis player Jessica Pegulanumber 6 in the world, won this Monday the WTA 1000 National Bank Open Toronto by winning in three sets (6-3, 2-6 and 6-1) to his compatriots Amanda Anisimova132nd in the classification.
This is the second year in a row that Pegula, 30, won the Canadian Open. The player from Buffalo (USA) measured in the Canadian tournament and after this Monday he has 17 wins in 19 encounters on Canadian hard courts, which puts him on the same number of matches won in the tournament as the historical against. Chris Evert and Monica Seles.
Pegula has already won three WTA 1000 tournaments: in 2022 the Guadalajara tournament (Mexico), in 2023 the Canadian Open in Montreal and now the Canadian Open in Toronto.
Animisova, who to reach the final had to consecutively defeat four players in the top 20 of the rankings (Emma Navarro, Aryna Sabalenka, Anna Kalinskaya and Daria Kasatkina), started the match nervously, allowing Pegula to break his first service.
With the set uphill from the start, Anisimova, who reached 21st place in 2019 when she was 17 and temporarily retired from tennis in 2023 to take care of her mental health, was unable to recover and lost the first set 6 -3 after a second break of his serve.
But in the second set, the 22-year-old regained his confidence and in the third game it was his turn to break Pegula’s serve, putting the score at 1-2 in his favour.
With every point in her favor, Anisimova, making her mood clear all the time, built herself up the court and quickly took a two-game lead, 2-4. Pegula tried several tactics that didn’t work and the second set ended 2-6 in favor of Anisimova.
Just when Anisimova seemed to have control of the match, Pegula showed his greatest experience. In the first chance he had in the third set, he broke his opponent’s serve and made the score 2-0.
The loss of serve sank Anisimova who quickly lost the next three games, leaving the score at a resounding 5-0. Anisimova gets her last serve.
With the score at 5-1 and Pegula serving, Anisimova tried to extend the match. But Pegula sped up at the right moment to end the final third set with a clear 6-1.
As soon as the match ended, Anisimova began to cry emotionally on the court of the Canadian tournament and admitted to the audience that she was proud of how she played not only the final but the entire tournament.
In a subsequent press conference, the player said he believes athletes don’t often recognize how proud they are of their achievements.
“I don’t think someone says this about themselves and I think it’s important (to say it). Obviously the support of everyone around you is important but I also think that the most important thing is the support you give yourself ” she explained.
“It’s not easy being best friends and I think we all suffer a little because of that,” he added.
For his part, Pegula said he “really wants this trophy” and explained that he doesn’t feel too much pressure in Toronto perhaps because it comes directly from competing in the Paris Olympics.
“I don’t have much time to think about defending the title. I had to dedicate myself to getting used to the hard court conditions. The balls, move differently. At the same time, I have always felt comfortable on hard courts,” he explained.
Source: La Verdad
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