Pegula rallies past Svitolina to reach semis in Washington

Top seed Jessica Pegula came from behind to beat Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 4-6 6-3 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Citi Open in Washington DC on Friday.

The American fired a serve up the T that Svitolina could not handle to end the high-quality contest and its riveting 54-minute third set.

Svitolina, who returned from maternity break in April and made the semi-finals of Wimbledon last month, dug deep to fend off two match points in her final service game but was unable to convert her break point opportunities in the deciding set.

Pegula, who won the WTA 500 event in 2019, improved to 3-1 lifetime against wildcard Svitolina and will next face either Greece's Maria Sakkari or American Madison Keys, who play their quarter-final later on Friday.