America’s world number four Jessica Pegula beat Australian veteran Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 on Saturday to book a title showdown with rising compatriot McCartney Kessler at the WTA tournament in Austin, Texas. Kessler defeated Belgian Greet Minnen 7-5, 6-4. Pegula raced through the first set thanks to seven double faults from Tomljanovic. The Australian settled in the second to force the decider, but Pegula came out of a trio of breaks with a 3-1 lead in the third and comfortably closed out the match.

“We were a little hit or miss with our serves today,” said Pegula, who is chasing a seventh career title and her first since winning the 1000 event in Toronto last year.

That was one of Pegula’s two titles in a 2024 season in which she also reached the US Open final.

Kessler, ranked 56th in the world and seeded fifth, took advantage of Minnen’s 10 double faults to book her third WTA final appearance.

The first two yielded titles — in Cleveland last August and at Hobart in January.

Last month the 25-year-old claimed her first career win over a top-10 player when she upset Coco Gauff in the second round at Dubai.

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