Pegula wins all three in WTA Finals round-robin play

CANCUN, Mexico (AP):

Jessica Pegula finished round-robin singles play at the WTA Finals with a 3-0 record a year after going 0-3 at the season-ending championship, heading to the semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Maria Sakkari last night.

The fifth-seeded Pegula extended her overall winning streak to eight matches, including a title at the Korean Open last month.

The 29-year-old American has won all six sets she has played in Cancun so far and will play in the semi-finals tomorrow. Sakkari, who is ranked No. 9 but got into the eight-player field when No. 8 Karolina Muchova withdrew with an injured right wrist, went 0-3 and dropped every set.

Pegula had fewer winners than Sakkari, 12-7, but also made roughly half as many unforced errors, 35-18, on a windy evening with some brief rain.

Pegula already had clinched first place in the four-player group by virtue of earlier straight-set victories against Sabalenka and Rybakina on the outdoor hard court built for the event.

The two semi-finalists from the other singles group will be settled today when US Open champion Coco Gauff takes on Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, and four-time major champion Iga Swiatek meets three-time Slam runner-up Ons Jabeur.