TENNIS: Pegula sees off fellow American Anisimova to reach first Australian Open semi

MELBOURNE — Jessica Pegula advanced to the Australian Open semifinals for the first time in her career on Wednesday, defeating fellow American and fourth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6(1) at Melbourne Park.

The sixth seed, who previously reached the quarterfinals in 2021, 2022, and 2023, will face Elena Rybakina for a spot in Saturday’s final after the Kazakh star upset top seed Iga Swiatek earlier in the day.

“It’s awesome,” Pegula said. “I’ve gone deeper in the U.S. Open in recent years, but this is the first Slam where I’ve really broken through. I felt it was coming after being a three- and four-time quarterfinalist.”

Pegula dominated early, racing to a 4-1 lead as Anisimova struggled, surrendering two breaks of serve in the first five games. The first set ended in just 30 minutes.

Anisimova showed signs of recovery later, briefly taking the lead in the second set, but a crucial double fault allowed Pegula to level. The set went to a tiebreak, where Pegula stayed composed to secure the win over a frustrated Anisimova.

With this victory, Pegula is now one step away from her first Australian Open final and a chance to add another Grand Slam semifinal to her growing list of career achievements.

-Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Shri Navaratnam/Reuters