WTA 1000 Montreal: Pegula sweeps aside Samsonova to win the final

Last night at the Stage IGA of Montreal, American Jessica Pegula needed just 50 minutes to defeat Liudmila Samsonova and claim her third career title.

The world no. 3 has negotiated this week’s tournament with a veritable master’s hand. The Buffalo native won her third title and second WTA 1000 title with a 6-1/6-0 triumph over world No. 12 Liudmila Samsonova in the final. Samsonova, for her part, is not exactly down on her luck and, in fair play, Pegula was keen to point out: “She’s played a lot of matches in a short amount of time.. Scheduling wasn’t in her favor. It sucks when you feel like you’re not on a fair playing ground. Especially someone like her who’s such a great player”. As a reminder, Samsonova had just finished her semi-final, just two hours before the final, in a three-set battle against Rybakina. This match was delayed due to the rain.

Rising to the top

At 29, Jessica Pegula doesn’t make much noise, but she’s starting to make her mark on the circuit. Thanks to her triumph on Canadian soil, she has achieved a career-best ranking (no. 3). And this is no mean feat. A high-flying week for the American, in which she eliminated Coco Gauff, who had just won the Washington tournament, in the quarters. In the semi-finals, she defeated world number 1 Iga Swiatek in three sets, before sweeping aside Samsonova in the final, who had also put in a fine tournament.

With the US Open fast approaching, Jessica will be one of the players to watch closely. She’s been a professional since 2012, but has actually only been performing at the highest level for two years. She has 6 Grand Slam quarter-finals to her name, so has the time finally come for her to break through that glass ceiling and reach a final four in a major tournament?