Jessica Pegula continued her run at the Cincinnati Open after overcoming Sorana Cirstea in a demanding three-set encounter. The No. 3 seed defeated the Romanian 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in two hours and five minutes to secure a place in the quarterfinals. Pegula made the stronger start and controlled the opening set, taking it 6-2. Cirstea responded in the second, raising her level and finding a better rhythm in the rallies to win 6-4 and force a deciding set. The final set developed into the closest part of the match, with little separating the two players. Pegula eventually held her nerve in the decisive stages and closed out the contest 7-5.
Pegula arrived at the match after victories over Switzerland’s Simona Waltert and fellow American Emma Navarro. Against Cirstea, however, she faced her toughest challenge of the tournament so far and was forced to play a deciding set for the first time in Cincinnati this year. Cirstea had also entered the encounter in good form after defeating Nikola Bartunkova and Anna Kalinskaya. The Romanian pushed one of the tournament’s leading seeds deep into the third set before Pegula found the points she needed to advance.
The victory keeps Pegula in contention for one of the major titles of the North American hard-court season and provides another demanding test ahead of the US Open. For Cirstea, the defeat ends a strong Cincinnati run in which she once again demonstrated her ability to challenge leading players. Pegula, meanwhile, moves into the last eight after surviving a match in which her early dominance was replaced by a much tighter battle as the contest progressed.
