Jessica Pegula appears to be unstoppable north of the border.
Pegula defended her National Bank Open title with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 win over Amanda Anisimova on Monday night in Toronto.
The win improved Pegula’s career main-draw record at the National Bank Open to 17-2. She also became the first women’s player to win consecutive titles in Montreal and Toronto since Martina Hingis in 1999 and 2000.
“I feel comfortable (playing in Canada), it feels kind of like home,” Pegula told Sportsnet before the final. “… Maybe there just needs to be more tournaments in Canada.”
The No. 6 ranked player in the world from nearby Buffalo only dropped one set — to Anisimova — all tournament en route to the championship.
In the final, Pegula looked sharp right from the start. She broke Anisimova in the opening game and rode that to an opening set win.
Anisimova woke up in the second set, taking it to the defending champion 6-2 to hand Pegula her first set loss of the tournament.
But Pegula would re-assert herself in the third set. She dominated her opening service game and then broke Anisimova in the ensuing game to take a 2-0 lead. She carried that momentum to win the final set and will get her hands on the trophy once again.
