Veronika Kudermetova defeats Jessica Pegula to reach Madrid Open semifinals
Veronika Kudermetova reached the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event for the first time by upsetting third-seeded Jessica Pegula 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 at the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
The 12th-seeded Kudermetova sealed her victory with an ace on her second match point to set up a semifinal match against either No. 1 Iga Swiatek or Petra Martic, who will play later Wednesday.
Pegula was trying to reach her second consecutive final in Madrid. She was runner-up to Ons Jabeur at the clay-court tournament last year.
It was the fourth consecutive three-set win for Kudermetova.
“I feel so happy and proud of myself, because every match I played three sets,” the fifth-ranked Kudermetova said. “Before this match, every match was almost three hours. Today, only two hours, I feel fresh.” She had reached three q...