By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday November 4, 2022

Aryna Sabalenka is closing in on qualification for the last four at the WTA Finals, but she will need some help from the group's first-place winner Maria Sakkari this evening.



After defeating American Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5, the No.7 seed just needs the Greek to take a set from Tunisia's Ons Jabeur tonight when they meet in the final match of singles play in the Nancy Richey Group.

Her thoughts?

“Fingers crossed.”

The hard-hitting 24-year-old dominated Pegula early and hung on late to notch her second victory in three matches in Fort Worth, breaking Pegula six times as she won nearly 50 percent (21 of 41) of her first-serve return points against the third seed.

Sabalenka was strong on serve, winning 28 of 35 first-serve points, but she did surrender a pair of breaks in late in the second set, which allowed Pegula to rally back from a break down twice. The American eventually brought things level at 5-all, but won just two of the final ten points as Sabalenka closed out her victory in one hour and 31 minutes – it was the Belarusian’s 32nd match of an up and down season.

“She's she's amazing player and she made me really work tonight – I'm just super happy,” Sabalenka told the crowd.

Sabalenka has a lot to feel good about in Fort Worth, with character wins over Ons Jabeur and Pegula to show for her hard work. It has not been a perfect season for the former World No.2, and her struggles with her serve – and confidence – have been well documented, but it is a season defined by perseverance.

“I was definitely happy with my serve – for the half of the match,” she said, adding: “I'm just happy that I was really focused from the beginning to the end and I was able to finish this match in two sets. This is the best thing.”

As for Pegula, her nightmare debut at the WTA finals is nearly over. After an incredible season that saw her reach three major quarterfinals and claim her maiden WTA 1000 total just two weeks ago in Guadalajara, she has not won a single match in Fort Worth, going 0-3 in singles and 0-2 in doubles.

Pegula has now lost her last nine matches against the Top-5 on the singles court.

With partner Coco Gauff at her side, the pair will vie for their first win of the week on Friday night against top-seeded Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova. They have already been eliminated from semifinal contention.