MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jessica Pegula stopped the string of upsets at the Miami Open by ending the stalwart run of Britain’s unseeded Emma Raducanu on Wednesday night.
The fourth-seeded Pegula won 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2 in a 2-hour, 25-minute battle to move into her third Miami Open women’s semifinal in four years. Pegula, the last American remaining in the field, faces Alexandra Eala, the teenage wild card from the Philippines, on Thursday.
Pegula’s match ended at 11:23 p.m. ET and forced the postponement of the men’s quarterfinal between Novak Djokovic and Sebastian Korda until Thursday.
Raducanu, who won the 2021 US Open, came in ranked 60th world after experiencing multiple coaching changes and injuries.
Pegula won the first set. But Raducanu flashed her power in taking the second set, though not before she appeared to struggle physically with Miami’s high humidity that reached 70%.
Grimacing through points and showing signs of overheating, Raducanu posted five set points on Pegula’s serve but couldn’t convert. Pegula then held to close to 5-4.
At that juncture, medical personnel took Raducanu’s blood pressure and pulse rate as the chair umpire declared a medical timeout. The medical officials rubbed ice bags on Raducanu’s legs and put cold towels around her neck.
Raducanu sprang to life and dominated the tiebreaker 7-3.
In the third set, Pegula rallied, going up an early break at 2-0. On her third break point, Pegula put away Raducanu’s short ball and ended the match by breaking Raducanu at love.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: espn.com