Pegula fights back in German Open to earn maiden grass-court title

Jessica Pegula claimed her maiden grass-court title, fighting back from the brink of defeat to see off Anna Kalinskaya in the German Open on Sunday.

In just her second tournament since returning from a rib injury that kept her out of the French Open, Pegula earned her first title of the year with a 6-7 (0-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory.

Kalinskaya rallied after a slow start in the first set from 3-0 down to get to a tie-break in which she scored seven perfect points to take the early lead.

Pegula regained her composure in the second to force a decider, though she was put to the test once more when she found herself 4-1 down.

However, the world number five refused to back down and won the final five points of the match to seal the win after two hours and 38 minutes on the court.

The American had already begun the day by finishing off an efficient performance in her suspended semi-final against Coco Gauff.

She edged past the top seed 7-5 7-6 (7-2) to reach her first-ever grass-court final while earning her first Top 10 win of the year.

MAGIC NUMBER FIVEWorld No.5 @JPegula saves FIVE championship points before defeating Kalinskaya 6-7(0), 6-4, 7-6(3) in Berlin to lift her fifth career title on the Hologic WTA Tour!#ecotransLadiesOpen pic.twitter.com/FPhpKwL4Sc
— wta (@WTA) June 23, 2024

Data Debrief: Pegula comes out on top

Pegula saved five championship points on her way to defeating Kalinskaya to earn her fifth career title, and her first since 2023 in Seoul.

It was just Pegula's second meeting with the Russian, and once again, she had to go through three sets to get the better of her, just like at the 2019 Citi Open.