This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Jessica Pegula successfully defended her National Bank Open title, defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in an all-American championship final on Monday in Toronto.
Pegula, ranked No. 6 in the world and seeded third, won in Montreal in 2023 as the tournament alternates annually between the two Canadian cities. The location didn’t matter as the 30-year-old won in one hour and 27 minutes.
In winning her third career WTA 1000-level title and sixth overall, Pegula became the first woman to capture consecutive singles crowns at the National Bank Open since Martina Hingis in 1999-2000. The most recent player to reach two consecutive finals was Simona Halep in 2015-16.
Pegula, now 3-0 all-time versus the unseeded Anisimova, is a career 17-2 in main-draw matches at this event. The two losses came in the semifinals in 2021 and 2022, and she also fell in a qualifying match in 2013.
She started and finished strong, with Anisimova, ranked No. 132 in the world, making it a battle by taking the second set.
Pegula took 16 of 17 service points — including all 12 of her first-service points — in the opening set. She registered 16 of the first 19 points in the final set.
Overall, Pegula had more aces (6-2), won 79.1 percent (34 of 43) of her first-serve points and 44 percent (22 of 50) of first-return points.
Anisimova, 22, recorded more double faults (9-4) in her WTA 1000-level final. She was seeking third WTA title and first since early 2022. The native of Freehold, N.J., missed a large part of the 2023 season while focusing on her mental health.
She had defeated four straight top-20 players before running into Pegula, a Buffalo, N.Y., native who practically owns this tournament.
Pegula’s 10 consecutive singles matches are the best since Serena Williams captured 14 straight from 2011-14. Williams was the most recent American to win at the Toronto site (2013) before Pegula on Monday.
Anisimova is projected to move into the top 50 in the updated rankings.
–Field Level Media
