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Jessica Pegula, McCartney Kessler to meet in all-American final at Austin

Jessica Pegula, McCartney Kessler to meet in all-American final at Austin

Reuters02-03-2025
March 2 - Top-seeded Jessica Pegula recorded 31 winners while posting a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic on Saturday to advance to the championship match of the ATX Open in Austin, Texas.
Pegula took advantage of serving issues by Tomljanovic (11 double faults) and controlled the third set to place herself in position to win her seventh career title. Pegula will face fifth-seeded McCartney Kessler, who notched a 7-5, 6-4 win over Belgium's Greet Minnen to make it an all-American final.
Kessler outlasted Minnen despite converting just 5 of 18 break points. Minnen's attempts to pull off a victory were sabotaged by her 10 double faults. Kessler will be looking for her third career title.
Merida Open Akron
Top-seeded Emma Navarro of New York swept Armenia's Elina Avanesyan 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the final in Merida, Mexico. She will face qualifier Emiliana Arango of Colombia, a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 winner over Daria Saville of Australia.
Navarro, ranked No. 10 in the world, improved to 2-0 in her career against Avanesyan and will go for her second career title on Sunday. She previously won the Hobart International in January 2024. Navarro broke Avanesyan five times out of nine tries while saving five of Avanesyan's seven break attempts.
Arango, on the other hand, needed nearly three hours to advance to her first career WTA Tour singles final. She has faced Navarro once before, losing on clay in Naples, Fla., in January 2023. Regardless of Sunday's outcome, Arango will enter the world top 100.
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