Pegula holds off Ostapenko in straight sets

Jessica Pegula keeps her game under control during her second-round match with Jelena Ostapenko at the Qatar Total Open

Jessica Pegula held firm from her end to advance to the last eight at the Qatar Total Open Wednesday. Dealing with a late surge from Jelena Ostapenko, whose second serve took a beating, gave the American just enough room to win 6-2, 7-5 on Court A at the Khalifa International Tennis Centre. 

The Latvian had a fortunate outcome against Kiki Bertens, who attempted the test the waters after an Achilles injury but was trounced in her return back. The challenge in her second round increased meeting Pegula for the third time and first in six years. The American gained steam at the Australian Open, making it to her first major quarterfinal in Melbourne. With a four-match winning streak in Doha, the Buffalo native had the tenacity to level up on Ostapenko and show her progress in skills. 

She showed Ostapenko how was she was on the return side, making it a difficult service game that she managed to get out of. When it was her turn to serve, Pegula delivered a serve to love in response. The Latvian was once again under fire on serve leading to a mistake that allowed Pegula to take the break. The American once again delivered a serve to love in the fourth, but it woke up new energy in Ostapenko. 

She came out in the fifth, putting her offense into a new gear that held Pegula back and cheers from her camp to feed off of. Pegula didn’t get a third clean start on serve as the Latvian fired in a winning return. The 27-year-old had to play defense that led her and Ostapenko to deuce before holding on the second break. Just when it looked as if the 23-year-old had an answer for Pegula on the serve, she racked up too many errors on serve that cost her big. Pegula jumped at the opportunity and clinched another break to lead 5-2. 

The American served with new balls in the eighth battling Ostapenko, who was not giving up and proved her worth with a push to deuce. Despite her fight, it was a return landing wide into the tramlines that ended her quest for a comeback in 31 minutes. The second serve was Ostapenko’s weak spot, serving up less than 30 percent of points from it, making it easy to joggle during her service games. 

As the second got underway, the American focused on that point, taking another break under her belt. Ostapenko answered with a break back, trying to pull together some momentum. She couldn’t as Pegula went on a rush in the third, scoring the double break with a shutout. She backed it up with a hold of serve, increasing the frustrations of her opponent. The Latvian fought back well in the fifth holding her end to perhaps build upon it. 

Pegula answered with another service hold that doubled her lead on Ostapenko, but a service to love from the 23-year-old cut that back in half. Ostapenko added some difficulty for Pegula on serve in the eighth, scoring a serve to love while winning the last eight points played. With the momentum of the points paying off, the Latvian watched the next three points go long for Pegula giving her a 5-4 lead. 

 Having lost the last 12 points played, the 27-year-old turned things around on serve, denying Ostapenko anything to serve her to love. With things tied at five-all, and the last four games played to love, the fight was on to take control of the set. Ostapenko looked good during the first two points, but her second serve came back to haunt, giving the key break to Pegula. With the door opened to serve for the match, the Buffalo native watched Ostapenko err once wide and twice into the net bringing up match point. An ace down the T was too close to call, forcing the Latvian to get another look. The video showed that the ball caught the line, giving Pegula the victory in 1 hour and 13 minutes.