By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday March 27, 2024
Ekaterina Alexandrova rallied from a set down and earned her second consecutive Top-5 win, defeating Jessica Pegula to reach the semifinals in Miami.
Photo Source: Miami Open
Ekaterina Alexandrova is running hot at the Miami Open.
The 14th-seeded Russian is acting as the personal wrecking ball of the WTA’s Top-5 this week as she parlayed her round of 16 win over top-ranked Iga Swiatek into another big victory on Wednesday at the Miami Open, where she defeated world No.5 Jessica Pegula, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach her second career 1000-level semifinal.
It was a tense tussle from start to finish, and one that the Russian had to wrestle from the American's grip.
Alexandrova ratcheted up her game after dropping the final three games of the opening set, hitting her groundstrokes with more power than Pegula and keeping the American on the back foot with a stunning baseline game.
She finished with 40 winners against 61 errors, a ratio just good enough to allow her to get past the Buffalo, NY native and earn her third Top-5 win of the season, and second in as many matches.
“It was incredible, it was so difficult to play against her,” an elated Alexandrova said on court after her win.
The loss will sting Pegula, who is starting to rebuild her form after trying first few months of the season. The 30-year-old was bidding to become the first player to reach three consecutive Miami semifinals since Serena Williams in 2015, but ultimately couldn’t find a way around the blistering heat of Alexandrova’s game down the stretch.
Pegula, who drops to 9-5 overall on the season, had her chances in the third set, as she reclaimed a break to get back on serve in the sixth game of the set, and then held a brief lead at 4-3.
But Alexandrova unleashed her bristling power game down the stretch, broke Pegula for 5-4 and converted her second match point to lock up her victory in one hour and 59 minutes.
Alexandrova will face American Danielle Collins in the semifinals – which is her first on a hard court.
Earlier on Wednesday Collins hammered past Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-2 to reach the last four in MIami for the first time since 2018.
Playing in her last season on tour, Collins will get the lion’s share of support from the crowd when the pair meet in the semifinals on Thursday evening – it should be a high-octane contest between two aggressive baseliners bidding for their first WTA 1000 final.