WTA roundup: Jessica Pegula reaches Qatar semis with upset

March 5, 2021

American Jessica Pegula rolled to a 6-3, 6-1 upset of second-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic on Thursday to reach the semifinals of the Qatar Total Open at Doha.

Pegula had 20 winners against just seven unforced errors in the 60-minute victory. Pegula will next face fourth-seeded Petra Kvitova after the Czech knocked off Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus rolled to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over top-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. Azarenka will face Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, who knocked off Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-1.

Lyon Open

Qualifier Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 upset of third-seeded Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia to advance to the quarterfinals in France.

Golubic won 78.8 percent of her first-serve points in a strong 65-minute effort. She will next face Belgian Greet Minnen, who knocked off eighth-seeded Russian Arantxa Rus 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

In other matches, fourth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic of France rolled to a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan, seventh-seeded Paula Badosa of Spain posted a 6-2, 6-4 win over Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele and France’s Clara Burel recorded a 7-5, 2-6, 6-0 victory over Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus.

–Field Level Media