Tennis · International
Pegula wins final nine games in Dubai opener
A strong service performance helped the fourth seed defeat qualifier Varvara Gracheva.
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Jessica Pegula defeated Varvara Gracheva 6–4, 6–0 in seventy minutes to start her Dubai campaign. The fourth seed returned to competition after roughly twenty days away, having skipped the earlier Middle East tournaments following her Australian Open semifinal run.
Gracheva recovered an early break deficit and led 4–3 in the opening set. Pegula then won the final nine games of the match, taking the first set and completing a second-set sweep with three further service breaks.
Pegula landed forty-five of forty-eight first serves and saved four of the five break points she faced. The victory set up a first tour-level meeting with Iva Jovic in the last sixteen of the WTA 1000 tournament.
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