Pegula moves into her 3rd Miami
Open semifinal in 4 years with win over Raducanu
[March 27, 2025]
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Jessica Pegula stopped the string
of upsets at the Miami Open by ending the stalwart run of Britain’s
unseeded Emma Raducanu on Wednesday night.
The fourth-seeded Pegula won 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2 in a two hour, 25
minute battle, to move into her third Miami Open women's semifinal
in four years. Pegula, the last American in the field, faces the
teenage wild card from the Philippines, Alexandra Eala, on Thursday.
Pegula's match ended at 11:23 p.m. and forced the postponement of
the men's quarterfinal between Novak Djokovic and Sebastian Korda
until Thursday.
Raducanu, who won the 2021 U.S. Open, came in ranked 60th world
after experiencing multiple coaching changes and injuries.
Pegula won the first set. But Raducanu flashed her power in taking
the second set, though not before she appeared to struggle
physically with Miami’s high humidity that reached 70%.
Grimacing through points and showing signs of overheating, Raducanu
posted five set points on Pegula’s serve but couldn’t convert.
Pegula then held to close to 5-4.
At that juncture, medical personnel took Raducanu’s blood pressure
and pulse rate as the chair umpire declared a medical timeout. The
medical officials rubbed ice bags on Raducanu’s legs and put cold
towels around her neck.
Raducanu sprang to life and dominated the tiebreaker 7-3.
In the third set, Pegula rallied, going up an early break at 2-0. On
her third break point, Pegula put away Raducanu's short ball and
ended the match by breaking Raducanu at love.
In a nearly three-hour, men’s quarterfinal, a cramping, 14th-seeded
Grigor Dimitrov barely survived the oppressive humidity to outlast
No. 23 seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Dimitrov was led off the court by a tournament doctor and ATP physio
after sitting in his chair for over 25 minutes, saying he was
feeling “dizzy."
Dimitrov, a Miami Open finalist in 2024, saved a match point in the
third set when trailing 5-6 before forcing a tiebreaker. He
squandered seven set points in the opening set and lost the
tiebreaker 6-4.
[to top of second column] |
He will face the Djokovic-Korda winner in the
quarterfinals.
The high seeds were falling earlier on Wednesday.
Soon after unseeded wild card Eala stunned No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek in
a straight-set women's quarterfinal, men’s top seed Alexander Zverev
got bounced by No. 17 seed Arthur Fils of France, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a
fourth-round men’s match postponed by rain.
Fils, who beat American Frances Tiafoe in his previous match in a
marathon three setter, will face Jakub Mensik in Thursday’s
quarterfinals.
In the third set, Fils broke Zverev at 3-3 and kept the German
moving. On match point, Fils pounded a ball down the left sideline
that the top seed couldn’t retrieve.
Fils, 20, received treatment on his back after the first set but
rallied to win the next two, winning in two hours.
“I was feeling not great in the rallies," he said. "I’ve had a
little problem in my back since I was young, so sometimes it hurts
me a little bit. I had to find a rhythm, more aggressive and come
into the court to play my game and not let him play. Because when
you let him play, he is one of the best tennis players in the world.
I’m really happy about the way I did it.”
Eala, ranked 140th, is on the verge of becoming the first star
player to ever come out of the Philippines after topping Swiatek
6-2, 7-5.
Eala became the third wild card to reach the Miami Open semifinals,
following Justine Henin in 2010 and Victoria Azarenka in 2018.
She never rattled as the first four games went to at least one deuce
and five of the first six games were service breaks. Swiatek held
serve just twice in the match and committed 32 unforced errors in
the one hour, 39-minute battle.
Eala has beaten three major winners during her remarkable run —
Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam
winner from Poland.
“There is a lot of emotions, definitely,’’ said Eala, who had never
beaten a top 40 player. “Happiness has to be on the top of the whole
list.’’
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
