No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula opened her Credit One Charleston Open title defense by coming off a 3 hour, 10 minute barnburner, surviving the challenge of veteran Yulia Putintseva 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to reach the third round.
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In recent months, Pegula has become famous for his three-way fights — and his impressive winning record. He now has a record of 7-1 in deciding teams this year, and 16-4 since the US Open. However, this was the longest of the lot. Indeed, it was the American’s longest match since her 6-7 (8), 7-5, 7-6 (5) loss to Liudmila Samsononova in the second round in Berlin last year (3 hours and 21 minutes), and the longest tour win of her career. (Her longest time was a 7-5, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (3) defeat of Leylah Fernandez in the 2024 Cincinnati quarterfinals, in 3 hours and 4 minutes.)
“Even if it’s not good maybe for tomorrow, but I feel like I can get a three-hour game, I mean, you’re going to break a lung,” Pegula said. “As an aerobic and anaerobic body it breaks down a little bit. And I feel like, really, if I can get through tomorrow, I think it can help me get over the limit.”
Pegula had not lost a set against Putin in the previous three meetings, but this was their first meeting on clay – and the Kazakhstani player, who was looking for his eighth Top 5 win, pushed him to the end in a tactical battle that will be a candidate for the best match of the 2026 season. Putintseva held two points for a 3-0 lead in three, but in the end Pegula offered a selection of cool guns with the biggest points.
“It’s not a lot of words,” Pegula said in his courtroom interview. “All I could think was, ‘Welcome to the clay court season.’ Oh my God, it’s my first game on clay. Thank you Yulia. He is a tricky opponent, especially on clay. He can be tricky, using high balls, low balls, slices, shots, and I felt like he was playing me honestly for a long time. I’m not sure how I found my way back. In the third season, there were many flashbacks as well. “
Pegula will face the No. 14 Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who defeated lucky loser Yuan Yue 6-0, 7-5. Cocciaretto raced through the first 10 games to lead 6-0, 4-0 before Yuan paid back to win five games in a row. Down 5-4 in the second set, the Italian rallied to take the final three games of the match.
Meanwhile, the No. 2 Ekaterina Alexandrova was forced to withdraw from the competition before her second match against Yuliia Starodubtseva.
“I am very sorry to share that I need to withdraw from Charleston this week,” Alexandrova said in a statement. “I sustained a minor injury in Miami that needs more care and treatment. Charleston is one of my favorite weeks of the year, so I’m sorry I won’t be able to play in front of the fans tonight. I hope to see you all next year!”
Instead, Starodubtseva will face No. The 34-year-old Georgian will return to the WTA main draw for the first time since Prague 2022.
Put down one thing: Blood, sweat and fallen bullets
The stage was set for a classic match from the first game, which saw Pegula slamming backhands down the line and Putintseva weaving her net with forehands and forehands, eventually holding after saving four points.
The hope of the World 72 his tactics were clear: pushing Pegula behind the base with loopy topspin, stretching him wide with sharp angles, never giving him the same ball twice and finally removing the flat rhythm that he thrives on. From the break at 2-1, Putintseva stuck to her game plan, without allowing a forced – and reluctant – medical timeout to treat a bleeding finger to distract her. In the final game of the set, Putintseva’s excellent defense and range produced a flurry of early errors from Pegula as she broke through for the set.
Put two: Pegula gets the answer in the frontcourt
Pegula was banned from playing her favorite sport of tennis in the first grade, but the second saw her take matters into her own hands. Despite winning just six of 14 points in the opening round, the Dubai champion continued to come out on top — 21 times in total in the second round. Her tournament average didn’t improve – Pegula won just 11 of 21 points – but the tactic shifted the power of the match away from Putintseva who dominated the extended sessions.
At 1-1, Pegula also began to successfully find traffic on Putintseva’s serve, finding return winners for the first time. He was unable to win his opponent’s player in that game, but it was the prelude to his biggest comeback of the day to beat 5-2. Putintseva tried to charge late, but a high-quality game saw the set end with a good shot from Pegula, followed by a poor Putintseva.
Set three: The most recent changes
There was no hint of deception or a dip in quality at the start of the results. The first three games saw Pegula win a series of lung-attacking rounds, while Putintseva found magic with a backhand and a stunning forehand winner. But with two points to hold for 3-0, Putintseva was penalized for a shot that was too heavy, then hit a backhand. Pegula stormed back with a beautiful volley, and ran off five of the next six games for a 5-3 lead.
With the final court on the line, a couple of errors came back into Pegula’s game — and, seeing she still had an advantage, Putintseva extended her powerful effort to bring the score back to 5-5.
But at home, it was gun selection that made the difference. At 5-5, 15-15, Putintseva had served Pegula from the other side and opened the court for a big takedown. He chose a very good shot — and paid the price, when Pegula quickly put it away. Two points later, Pegula broke free from an extended layup with a powerful drive through the air, slotting the winner right into the corner.
In Pegula’s fourth break of the game, the score was tied at 15-15. Perhaps mindful of her poor shot selection earlier, Putintseva put all her energy into a forehand effort – only to send it wide. The last break of the game belonged to Pegula, and the first team gave the victory to 15, converting his second point of the game with one punch of two.
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