I’m Not Scared: Fearful Jessica Pegula makes it to the final 16 despite fans’ threats due to…
US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula survived a scare to reach the last 16 of the China Open on Sunday and a meeting with Spain’s Paula Badosa.
The second seed from the United States fought back in Beijing to beat Veronika Kudermetova 6-7 (9/11), 6-1, 6-2.
The first set was a mammoth one, the 39th-ranked Russian prevailing in the tie break to take an early lead.
Also read | Sinner ’very disappointed and surprised’ over WADA appeal in his doping case
Pegula struck back in the second set, then carried that momentum into the deciding set and grabbed an early break to giver her a sniff of victory.
The 30-year-old Pegula, who is chasing a seventh WTA Tour title, sealed the deal with her third match point when she sent down an ace.
The 19th-ranked Badosa booked her place in the next round with a straight-sets win over Slovakian qualifier Rebecca Sramkova.
The top seed in Beijing is Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Pegula 7-5, 7-5 in New York earlier this month for her third Grand Slam crown.
World number one Iga Swiatek is not in Beijing because of “personal matters”.
READ NEXT…
AITA elects new office bearers, holds official declaration of result
The AITA was to conduct an election at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) but there was no need for voting since the Returning Officer received only one nomination for each post.
REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: Apart from getting a new president, secretary general and treasurer, the national tennis federation elected eight vice presidents, four joint secretaries and 10 executive members. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images for ITF) | Photo Credit: Fran Santiago
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Saturday elected unopposed a new set of office bearers but the result was not declared officially as per the directions of the Delhi High Court, which is hearing a petition into Sports Code violations by the federation.
The AITA was to conduct an election at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) but there was no need for voting since the Returning Officer received only one nomination for each post.
Apart from getting a new president, secretary general and treasurer, the national tennis federation elected eight vice presidents, four joint secretaries and 10 executive members.
It has been learnt that initially Rohit Rajpal and one more candidate had filed their nominations for the post of president but later India’s non-playing Davis Cup captain withdrew his candidature.
READ | State associations withdraw no-confidence motion against AITA chief Anil Jain
Former India players Somdev Devvarman and Purav Raja had sought a stay on the AITA elections, claiming that the federation was not following the Sports Code and several candidates in fray were ineligible to contest the polls.
The Court did not stay the elections but asked AITA and the Sports Ministry to file their response.
“The Election shall remain subject to the outcome of the instant writ petition. Let the result of the Election be placed in a sealed cover by the Election Officer, meaning thereby, the result of the Election shall not be published,” the Court said.
The matter will be heard on October 14.
Till that time, the outgoing team and the new team will jointly take care of the federation work.