By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wedneseday March 16, 2025
Jessica Pegula stopped Emma Raducanu's run on a humid night in Miami.
Photo Source: TC
Emma Raducanu rode a wave of confidence into Wednesday night’s clash with Jessica Pegula. The Brit had won four straight matches for the first time since she won the US Open crown in 2021, but Pegula – with a little help from the Miami humidity – ended the former Slam champion’s run with a 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 victory for a spot in the semifinals.
“It was tough,” Pegula said. “I just wanted to come out in the third set really strong and really quick, and kind of jump on her.”
The pair traded blows – and sets – in their third career meeting, but after flipping the script on her opponent in the second set, Raducanu could not maintain her momentum. Pegula took charge in the decider, running flawlessly through the set to lock up her victory in two hours and 25 minutes.
Raducanu struggled with the heat and had to see the doctors for a medical timeout at 5-4 in the second set.
She looked dazed as she had her blood pressure checked and was massaged with ice towels, but she came back and fought valiantly to finish off the set in a tiebreak.
Credit the 22-year-old for ramping up the aggression in her game and taking play to Pegula in the second set, but it was the American who turned the tides in set three as she pushed back firmly, raced out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back.
Fourth-ranked Pegula, who lives about 40 miles from Miami, didn’t seem affected by the conditions, at least not as much as Raducanu was. After her win she signed the camera “It’s humid.”
Pegula hit 16 winners against just one unforced error in the final set.
For the evening, the Buffalo native hit 48 winners against 27 unforced errors, while Raducanu hit 30 winners and 18 unforced errors. But Pegula managed five breaks on the evening, while Raducanu only managed a single service break.
The American will face 19-year-old wild card Alexandra Eala in the semifinals on Thursday night in Miami. She improved to 19-5 on the season, and 14-2 in her last 16 WTA quarterfinals.
A two-time semifinalist in her home tournament (2022, 2023), Pegula is 18-5 overall in Miami.
“I love playing here, I love playing at home, I love getting wins in the Dolphins stadium – just saying,” Pegula, flexing her Buffalo Bills loyalty, said. “I always play well and I want to make it to that final so bad.”
Despite the loss, Raducanu’s run to the quarterfinals will push her inside the WTA’s Top-50 for the first time since 2022.