Toronto, Canada) – A heavy favorite in her quarter-final match at the WTA 1000 in Toronto, Jessica Pegula claimed world No. 7 status and qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament. The American overtook Kazakh Yulia Putintseva, 46th in the standings, by scoring a 6/3 double in 1h21 of the match.

To win the duel with Putintseva on Friday, Pegula led the winners statistic by 20-14 and committed 15 unforced errors to the rival’s 18. The American didn’t suffer a single break, facing only one break point in the entire game. She created 10 breakout opportunities in the game and took advantage of three.

Consecutive semi-finals in Canada ✌️

Seed #7 🇺🇸 @JLPegula organizes a meeting with Halep at @NBToronto with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Putintseva.#NBO22 pic.twitter.com/bon3c5f8qX

– wta (@WTA) August 12, 2022

Pegula repeats last year’s semi-final and defends the 350 points of the campaign achieved last season, when the tournament was held in Montreal. The 28-year-old reached her fourth WTA 1000 semi-final and third of the season. This year, she also made semi-finals in Miami and finals in Madrid.

The only WTA title of Pegula’s career was won in 2019 in Washington, but the tennis player has already made three other finals. Her opponent in the semi-final is the Romanian Simona Halep, former world number 1 and currently 15th, in an unprecedented confrontation on the circuit. Halep, 30, is a two-time Canadian tournament champion in 2016 and 2018.

Pegula is also in the doubles quarter-finals
Also this Friday, Pegula has an entry for the doubles draw. She joins compatriot Coco Gauff for the showdown against fellow American Desirae Krawczyk and Dutch Demi Schuurs. Whoever wins can face Madison Keys and Sania Mirza or Sofia Kenin and Yulia Putintseva in semis.