No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula nearly blew a big lead in her Wuhan opener before sealing a narrow 6-4 4-6 7-6 (6) win over world No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.
The start of the match didn't bring anything surprising as Pegula claimed two breaks to take the first set. But the second set was a completely different story as Baptiste opened an early 3-0 lead. While the No. 6 seed twice managed to come back from a break down, she lost her serve again in the 10th game when serving to stay in the second set as the world No. 55 managed to force a decider.
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After losing the second set, Pegula bounced back nicely as she broke her rival twice to open what looked like a comfortable 5-2 lead. Then, the drama started - the No. 6 seed blew two match points in the eighth game and three additional match points in the ninth game before also failing to serve out for the match for the second time in the 10th game.
When Baptiste went 5-4 up in the third-set tie-break, the No. 6 seed appeared to be on the brink of a shock loss. Fortunately for the 2024 US Open finalist, she pulled off an escape and won the match after realizing her seventh match point.
Who is Pegula's next rival in Wuhan?
In the Wuhan round-of-16, Pegula will take on No. 9 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who defeated Ann Li today. In the past, the American played against the Russian five times and posted a 2-3 record in those meetings.
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Meanwhile, by beating Baptiste, the 31-year-old American tied Amanda Anisimova on the second place for the most three-set wins in 2025.
