Jessica Pegula advances to the third round in Wuhan with a tight win over Baptiste

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Jessica Pegula, of the United States returns a backhand shot from Linda Noskova, of the Czech Republic during the women's singles semifinals match of the China Open tennis tournament, at the National Tennis Center, in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Coco Gauff of the United States returns a shot from compatriot Amanda Anisimova in a women's singles semifinal match of the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, China, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) — Jessica Pegula, of the United States returns a backhand shot from Linda Noskova, of the Czech Republic during the women's singles semifinals match of the China Open tennis tournament, at the National Tennis Center, in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

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2:48 AM on Wednesday, October 8

The Associated Press

WUHAN, China (AP) — Jessica Pegula was twice broken while serving for the match in the third set but recovered to edge Hailey Baptiste in a tight tiebreaker Wednesday and advance at the Wuhan Open.

Sixth-seeded Pegula beat her fellow American 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) on her seventh match point to reach the third round.

Pegula, who lost in the China Open semifinals last week, will next play ninth-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, who beat American Ann Li 7-6 (5), 6-2.

No. 3 Coco Gauff, coming off a semifinal loss to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova at the China Open last week, breezed into the next round with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Moyuka Uchijima in 51 minutes.

No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova rallied to beat 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, and qualifier Kateřina Siniaková beat Maya Joint 6-3, 6-1.

U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and 11th-seeded Naomi Osaka were scheduled to play later Wednesday.

Top-ranked Sabalenka, who took a Greek holiday after her second consecutive win at Flushing Meadows, withdrew from last week's China Open, another WTA 1000-level event.

“I feel good,” Sabalenka said on her arrival in Wuhan. “I just didn’t want to rush my body into the tournament. So I think we made the right decision to take extra time for recovery and for the preparation. Physically, I feel ready to go.”

Sabalenka has had an amazing run in Wuhan — her record is 17-0 while winning titles in 2018, 2019 and 2024.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis