FLORIDA: No.14 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova continued her impressive form at the Miami Open, making the semifinals with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 upset win over No.5 seed American Jessica Pegula at the WTA 1000 event.
The 29-year-old Alexandrova also matched her career-best WTA 1000 performance with the come-from-behind win; she previously made the semifinals at WTA 1000 Madrid in 2022.
Pegula was nearly perfect behind her first delivery in the opening set, where she won 13 of her 14 first-serve points (92 percent). However, Alexandrova's power game clicked into gear in the second set, where she had 15 winners to Pegula's four, WTA reports.
In the decisive third set, Alexandrova double-faulted an early break away, putting the set at a 3-3 deadlock. However, the 29-year-old Russian took another opportunity two games later, moving ahead with aggressive returns and finishes in the forecourt to break Pegula for 5-4. She then converted her second match point to seal the comeback victory.
Alexandrova, the last player into the final four, will face the last remaining American Danielle Collins on Friday.
Collins reached the semifinals with a straight-sets win over Caroline Garcia earlier on the day. To reach her first final at this level, she'll have to defeat No.14 Alexandrova in Thursday's semifinals.