JESSICA Pegula fell short in her Miami Open run, losing to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, 5-7, 2-6, in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida.
Just two days after ending Alex Eala's giant-killing run, Sabalenka defeated the American fourth seed in 1 hour and 28 minutes in a repeat of their US Open final.
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Although their recent matches have been closely contested, Sabalenka has now extended her head-to-head lead over Pegula to 7-2.
The Filipina teen's loss to Pegula ended a historic run that saw her bundle out four seeded players - including three grand slam winners - and reach the semifinals of a WTA Tour event for the very first time.
Eala is set to reach a career-high No. 75 in the updated world rankings.
Sabalenka has now won eight WTA 1000 singles titles in her career, matching Maria Sharapova’s total.
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