Canadian Open: Pegula edges past Sakkari to keep Canadian three-peat dream alive

Already a winner in Montreal in 2023 and Toronto in 2024, Jessica Pegula is chasing a rare treble on Canadian soil — and she took a confident first step on Wednesday night. Against a familiar opponent in Maria Sakkari, Pegula stayed composed during key moments to close out the match in 1 hour and 32 minutes.

Sakkari started strong and led 5-3 in the opening set, even holding four set points. But Pegula, as she’s done so often in Canada, absorbed the pressure and strung together six straight games to flip the match in her favor. It was a costly dip for the Greek, who has shown signs of resurgence lately, including a quarter-final run in Washington.

The second set remained close, but Pegula’s poise under pressure once again made the difference. Her ability to manage tight exchanges and dictate with precision underlined why she remains a top contender for the title.

A historic hat-trick in sight

Having already lifted titles in Austin, Charleston, and Bad Homburg this season, Pegula is aiming for an unprecedented third straight crown at the Canadian Open — a feat not achieved since Monica Seles (1995–1998), albeit in different cities.

Next up for the American is comeback queen Anastasija Sevastova, who upset Ajla Tomljanovic and Magda Linette in the previous rounds.

Montreal WTA 1000, other second-round results (IGA Stadium, hard, USD 5.152.599, most recent results first):

• Kamilla Rakhimova vs. Elina Svitolina
• Amanda Anisimova vs. Lulu Sun
• Belinda Bencic vs. Eugenie Bouchard
• Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Eva Lys
• Antonia Ruzic vs. Karolina Muchova
• Emma Raducanu vs. Peyton Stearns
• Yuliia Starodubtseva vs. Magdalena Frech
• Elise Mertens vs. Anna Kalinskaya: wednesday
• Iga Swiatek (2) beat Hanyu Guo (Q): 6-3, 6-1
• Catherine McNally beat Rebecca Sramkova (31): 6-2, 6-2
• Jelena Ostapenko (22) beat Renata Zarazua: 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
• Clara Tauson (16) beat Lucia Bronzetti: 6-1, 6-2
• Madison Keys (6) beat Laura Siegemund (Q): 6-2, 6-1
• Anastasija Sevastova beat Magda Linette (25): 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
• Naomi Osaka beat Liudmila Samsonova (13): 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3
• McCartney Kessler (28) beat Maya Joint: 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
• Victoria Mboko (WC) beat Sofia Kenin (23): 6-2, 6-3
• Suzan Lamens beat Beatriz Haddad Maia (18): 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
• Coco Gauff (1) beat Danielle Collins: 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (2)
• Elena Rybakina (9) beat Hailey Baptiste: 6-4, 6-3
• Lin Zhu beat Ekaterina Alexandrova (12): 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
• Marie Bouzkova beat Diana Shnaider (14): 6-2, 7-6 (5)
• Jessica Bouzas Maneiro beat Ashlyn Krueger (26): 6-4, 6-4
• Veronika Kudermetova beat Olga Danilovic (29): 6-4, 6-2
• Aoi Ito (Q) beat Jasmine Paolini (7): 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5)
• Jaqueline Cristian beat Linda Noskova (20): 6-3, 6-4
• Mirra Andreeva (4) beat Bianca Andreescu (WC): W/O
• Marta Kostyuk (24) beat Marketa Vondrousova: 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
• Emma Navarro (8) beat Rebecca Marino (WC): 6-1, 6-2
• Dayana Yastremska (30) beat Camila Osorio: 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2
• Daria Kasatkina (15) beat Anna Blinkova: 6-1, 6-4