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Match details
Fixture: (1) Jessica Pegula vs (3) Belinda Bencic
Date: April 8, 2023
Tournament: Charleston Open 2023
Round: Semifinals
Venue: Charleston, USA
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Outdoor clay (green)
Prize money: $780,637
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Jessica Pegula vs Belinda Bencic preview
Top seed Jessica Pegula will lock horns with defending champion Belinda Bencic in the semifinals of the 2023 Charleston Open on Saturday.
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Following wins over Anna Blinkova and Irina-Camelia Begu, Pegula advanced to the quarterfinals, where Paula Badosa awaited her. Both players remained quite solid on serve for most of the first set.
The American found an opening during the eighth game, breaking Badosa's serve to go 5-3 up. She then served out the set in the following game without a fuss. A break of serve at the start of the second set put Pegula 2-0 up.
The World No. 3 maintained her lead and stepped up to serve for the match at 5-4. However, Badosa broke the American's serve to keep herself in contention. The match soon went into a tie-break, with Pegula coming out on top to win the contest 6-3, 7-6(6).
Bencic, meanwhile, kicked off her title defense with wins over Katherine Sebov and Shelby Rogers to make the last eight. She faced Ekaterina Alexandrova for a place in the semifinals.
Bencic broke her opponent's serve twice to go 3-0 up. Alexandrova broke back to make it 3-1, but lost serve once again in the next game to trail 4-1. The Swiss then served for the set after another couple of games, but got broken.
Alexandrova wasn't able to capitalize on the moment as Bencic broke her serve yet again to clinch the set. The second set was more straightforward, with a single break of serve sealing the match in the Swiss' favor with a 6-3, 6-3 scoreline.
Jessica Pegula vs Belinda Bencic head-to-head
Bencic has a perfect winning record against Pegula as she leads 3-0 in the head-to-head. She won their previous encounter at the 2021 US Open in straight sets.
Jessica Pegula vs Belinda Bencic odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Jessica Pegula vs Belinda Bencic prediction
Pegula survived a late surge from Badosa to make it to the last four. The American upped the aggression level slightly in her last match and was rewarded quite well for it.
Bencic is still going strong in Charleston, notching up her ninth consecutive win at the venue. The first set of her quarterfinal clash against Alexandrova featured a fair bit of back and forth as both players struggled to hold serve. The second set was a much better performance from the Swiss.
Pegula has so far found it tough to unravel Bencic's game. However, their last meeting was almost two years ago and since then, the American has blossomed into a different player.
Pegula has upped her defensive game over the years, which could now give her an edge against Bencic. The World No. 3 is rock steady on the court, but so is the Swiss to a great extent.
With two of the tour's most in-form players set to clash, this is likely to be a high-quality affair. Pegula has been consistent all year long and has played really well. Expect her to score her first win over Bencic.
Pick: Jessica Pegula to win in three sets.
