Two seeded players still alive in Madrid as Pegula powers her way into semi-finals

A surprising WTA semi-final lineup in Madrid features Ons Jabeur vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova and Jessica Pegula vs. Jil Teichmann. Both Alexandrova — a qualifier — and Teichmann are unseeded.

Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 9, 2021 Jessica Pegula of the U.S. celebrates after winning her first round match against Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka

Ricky Dimon

May 5, 2022

Mutua Madrid Open | Draw | Order of play

Madrid has been upset city on the women’s side from start to finish over the past week.

However, each of the two seeded players that survived en route to the quarter-finals are still in title contention heading into the semis of the Mutua Madrid Open. After No. 8 Ons Jabeur won earlier on Wednesday, No. 12 Jessica Pegula silenced the Spanish crowd in the nightcap by beating Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 6-2.

Next up for Pegula is unseeded Jil Teichmann, who defeated Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-4.

“I really like the conditions here in Madrid,” said Teichmann, who spends much of her time in Spain. “It’s perfect. It’s a mix between the Spanish clay, which I practice a lot, and [also] a little bit [at] altitude like I’m used to from Switzerland. So it’s actually great for me here.

“I like a lot the ‘ambiente,’ like you say in Spanish, what the people bring. I take all the energy they give me.”

YET TO DROP A SET 👊

🇨🇭 @jilteichmann pushes past Kalinina and continues her stellar run in Madrid!#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/6iEeAmTb4L
— wta (@WTA) May 4, 2022

Thursday marks the first-ever meeting between Pegula and Teichmann.

Jabeur vs. Alexandrova in other semi-final

The semi-final in the bottom half of the bracket also pits one seeded player against an unseeded opponent. In fact, Ekaterina Alexandrova had to qualify just to get into the main draw. The world No. 45 accomplished that feat and has since taken out Jelena Ostapenko, Nuria Parrizas Diaz, Marie Bouzkova, and Amanda Anisimova. Alexandrova was an underdog against Anisimova but surprisingly dominated the big-hitting American 6-4, 6-3.

Jabeur also prevailed on Wednesday in unexpectedly swift fashion, as she scored a convincing 6-3, 6-2 upset of Simona Halep.

Speaking of surprises, Jabeur and Alexandrova have already faced each other a whopping seven times during their careers. Alexandro leads the head-to-head series 6-1. Jabeur’s lone victory came five years ago in Zhuhai (6-1, 2-6, 6-3).