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Rybakina outlasts Pegula to reach Miami Open semis / Photo: © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Rybakina outlasts Pegula to reach Miami Open semis
World number two Elena Rybakina rallied to overcome fifth-ranked Jessica Pegula 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the WTA and ATP Miami Open semi-finals.
Reigning Australian Open champion Rybakina, a 26-year-old from Kazakhstan, fired 12 aces in beating the American, last year's Miami runner-up, for their fifth consecutive meeting.
Rybakina next will play the winner of a later quarter-final between world number one Aryna Sabalenka, the defending champion from Belarus, and 45th-ranked American Hailey Baptiste, trying to reach her second WTA semi-final.
Rybakina improved to 6-3 all-time against Pegula, including an Indian Wells quarter-final and semi-finals of the Australian Open and last year's WTA Finals on the way to titles.
Pegula, who won last month's WTA title in Dubai, broke twice to begin the match with a 4-0 lead when Rybakina netted a forehand in the opening game and sent a forehand long in the third.
Pegula held twice more to take the first set in 35 minutes when Rybakina netted a backhand, the American making only two unforced errors in the opening set.
Rybakina missed three overhead smashes in the fifth game of the second set but held serve then broke when Pegula swatted a forehand long for a 4-2 edge on the way to forcing a third set.
Rybakina broke Pegula to open the third set and stayed in command to advance after two hours and 15 minutes.
Sabalenka, who will face Baptiste for the first time, has not lost to an unseeded opponent since she fell to Czech Marketa Vondrousova in last June's Berlin semi-finals.
Sabalenka won titles this year at Brisbane and Indian Wells. Her only 2026 loss was to Rybakina in the Australian Open final.
It will be the 32nd career WTA quarter-final for Sabalenka.
Baptiste, who lost to Rybakina in the second round at Indian Wells, has captured four straight matches, the longest win streak of her WTA career.
Her best WTA finish was a run to the Abu Dhabi semi-finals.
On the men's side, later quarter-finals will send US 22nd seed Tommy Paul against France's 28th-seeded Arthur Fils and 151st-ranked Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce against Czech 21st seed Jiri Lehecka.
H. Müller--BTZ
