When Jessica Pegula came from 2-0 down to take a 4-2 lead late in the third set of her semifinal against partner Iva Jovic on Friday, Tennis Channel anchor Brett Haber said it best:
“Just another day in an office with three teams.”
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This wraps up Pegula’s week in Charleston, where she won three straight setters, culminating in Saturday’s 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 victory over Jovic in 2 hours and 35 minutes. The victory sends her to her second Charleston final in a row as she looks to defend her title against first-time representative Yulia Starodubtseva.
The result also improves her record to 10-1 in three matches this season and gives her the 23rd win of 2026, which ties her with Aryna Sabalenka for the most WTA Tour Powered by Mercedes-Benz ranking this year.
“Sometimes I get really tired and I don’t know, it allows me to play tennis instead of getting upset or worried about things,” Pegula said in his interview on court. It sounds like I’m not emotional, but sometimes I get a little emotional and that makes me play for free.
“But yeah, I kept fighting there. It was tough. I had to make a lot of changes. Sometimes it wasn’t good, but I think it was competitive and maybe I played a little bit more big points.”
In a game full of power surges and missed chances on both sides – Jovic and Pegula combined for 8 of 30 break points – it ultimately came down to who could handle the big moments. On this day, Pegula’s experience won over his mini-me, so to speak, to Jovic.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of saying the first thing or the game “set the tone,” but here it works. After holding to love to open the match, Jovic broke back on his first chance for 2-0 as part of a quick start in which he won nine of the first 10 points.
What followed was pure chaos. In the third game, Jovic was dragged into a service game that lasted more than 17 minutes and produced seven Pegula break points. Time after time, Jovic escaped – he saved one with the first winner, another with a strong backhand and the third with a savvy game. He saved them all and finally tied the break for 3-0 after a 22-point game.
But despite the arrest, the pace had begun to falter.
Pegula was held to love in the next game to get on the board at 3-1, the first of three straight games to level the score at 3-3. After Jovic escaped again for 4-3, Pegula faced a break point in the three-game set but held for 4-4, a crucial moment that made it another three-game set to take the first set in 61 minutes after trailing 3-0.
The second group was more specific. After a combined 16-point streak in the opening game, neither player produced one in the first 11 games of the second. Working to force a tiebreak, Pegula faced the first three break points. He saved two, but Jovic converted the third to force the decider.
When Jovic jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third set, it looked like the seven and a half hours Pegula spent on the court entering Saturday had finally caught up with him. Instead, he intervened. The passing of the next game sparked a strong response, and he broke at love 2-1.
In the third inning, Pegula went on a run, winning four straight games to turn the deficit into a 4-2 lead. After two stops, he got the last break in the last game. Jovic fought until the end, saving two match points, but Pegula was not to be denied. He converted the third to seal the win and keep his title defense alive for another day.
Next up is the first meeting with Starodubtseva with the trophy on the line. For Pegula, it will be the 11th title of his songs. For Starodubtseva, who started the week as World No. 89 and found only modest participation after a late withdrawal, it would be her first WTA title in her first tour final.
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