Pegula rallies to beat Anisimova, Collins takes down Badosa

Charleston (US), April 3

Top-seeded Jessica Pegula rallied from a set down to beat fellow American Amanda Anisimova 3-6 6-4 7-6(3) in a second round match at the Charleston Open on Tuesday night.

Pegula had seven aces in the match and won despite capitalising on only 4 of 15 break points. Anisimova converted on 4 of 8 break points.

Pegula said Anisimova is tough to play because she is a great ball striker and she can take the racquet out of an opponent’s hands.

“I just kind of had to buckle down, and I think I started being a little bit more active with my feet and pressuring her a little bit more and being able to move her and kind of scrap out a few points as well,” Pegula said. “So, yeah, I just kind of found a way today, but it was a really great match, I thought, especially the last set was super high level.”

Third-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece also advanced to the third round with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria, while Magda Linette of Poland lost the first set at love and came back to beat No. 13 seed Dayana Yastremska of Bulgaria 0-6 6-4 6-3 in a second round match.

Earlier in the day, Miami Open champion Danielle Collins and Sloane Stephens won first round matches. Collins beat Paula Badosa 6-1 6-4 at the clay-court tournament, while Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, defeated Magdalena Frech 6-0 6-2.

Collins has disclosed this will be her final season on tour. She has endometriosis, an ailment that affects the uterus. — AP

Nagal loses in Round of 16

Marrakech: India’s Sumit Nagal went down fighting against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in the Round of 16 at the ATP Marrakech Open. Despite a strong start, Nagal couldn’t maintain his momentum, ultimately losing 6-1 3-6 4-6. In the men’s doubles category, Yuki Bhambri and France’s Albano Olivetti secured a quarterfinals berth with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Bart Stevens and Petros Tsitsipas.