Pegula downs Swiatek to win Bad Homburg title; Joint lifts Eastbourne crown to end Eala's history bid

Gulf Today

6 hours ago

World number three Jessica Pegula beat Poland's Iga Swiatek in straight sets to win her third title of the season at Bad Homburg on Saturday, two days before Wimbledon starts.
The 31-year-old won 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 46 minutes in the northern suburbs of Frankfurt for her second title on grass, after Berlin last year.
The US Open finalist now trails Swiatek 6-5 in their meetings, but has won four of her last six contests with the former world number one, who was appearing in her first final on grass.
The American played solidly on serve, conceding only one break point in the first set, which she avoided with a clever serve-and-drop combination.
Pegula then converted her third break point at three-games all to take a decisive lead and clinch the set.
In the second set, Swiatek piled up unforced errors. Pegula took the Polish player's serve at 5-5 with a superb forehand crosscourt shot from the baseline.
Top seed Pegula did not falter on her serve to hand Swiatek a fifth defeat in 27 finals on the tour.
Pegula added to her trophies in Austin (hard court) and Charleston (clay) this season.
She now boasts nine career titles -- five in the last 12 months.
'This tournament shows there's hope for me on grass,' joked Swiatek after wiping away a few tears of disappointment.
The five-time Grand Slam winner was playing her first final on a grass court, two years after reaching the semi-finals in Bad Homburg, her best previous result on the surface.
Swiatek was playing in her first final in a year since she lifted her fourth French Open trophy at Roland Garros in 2024, and looking for her 23rd career title.
The former US Open champion will face Russian Polina Kudermetova, ranked 63, at Wimbledon.
Pegula, whose best result at Wimbledon was a quarter-final appearance in 2023, will open her campaign on Tuesday against 122nd-ranked Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Meanwhile, Australian teenager Maya Joint saved four match points to clinch the WTA title at Eastbourne with a dramatic victory over Alexandra Eala that ended the Filipina's history bid on Saturday.
Joint survived a tense clash lasting two hours and 26 minutes, emerging with a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (12/10) win to seal her second WTA Tour title.
In the youngest Eastbourne final since 1981, world number 51 Joint staved off the four championship points in a gripping final-set tie-break.
She finally wrapped up the title by drilling a backhand winner before collapsing to the turf in delight.
Having also defeated former Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu at Eastbourne over the last week, Joint has underlined her status as one of the rising stars of the women's tour.
After winning on clay in Rabat in May, the 19-year-old has proved she can thrive on grass as well ahead of the start of Wimbledon on Monday.
Joint is also scheduled to partner Hsieh Su-wei in the Eastbourne doubles final against Marie Bouzkova and Anna Danilina later on Saturday.
It was a painful defeat for Eala, who was so close to becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour title.
The 20-year-old wiped away tears of frustration during the on-court trophy presentation.
Eala had become the first Filipina to reach a WTA final after beating Varvara Gracheva in the last four at Eastbourne on Friday.
Eala's run to the final has made the world number 74 one to watch in the coming months.
After progressing through qualifying to make the main draw, Eala beat Lucia Bronzetti, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Nottingham Open finalist Dayana Yastremska and France's Gracheva.
She had burst onto the scene with three shock victories over Grand Slam winners Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek to reach the Miami Open semi-finals in March.
Eala is due to face reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova in the Wimbledon first round on Centre Court on Tuesday.
Agencies