Jessica Pegula Fends Off Amanda Anisimova To Defend Canadian Open Crown

Pegula, who was seeded third, prevailed 6-3 2-6 6-1 against her fellow American in Toronto.

The 30-year-old ended Anisimova's hopes of a shock title, and a fifth top-20 win of the tournament.

Pegula was on fire in the opening set, dominating on her serve, but Anisimova responded with a swift break in the second as she rallied to draw the match.

Yet two breaks in quick succession put Pegula firmly on top in the decider, and though Anisimova clawed back two match points, her opponent got the job done at the third time of asking.

Pegula has now won six Tour-level titles, with three of these being WTA 1000 events (Guadalajara 2022, Montreal 2023 and Toronto 2024).

Data Debrief: Pegula's Canadian comforts

Hailing from Buffalo, just south of the border, Pegula has certainly enjoyed a fine run in Canada over the past two years.?

She is only?the second player this century to secure the title at the Canadian Open in both Toronto and Montreal, along with Simona Halep, while she became?the seventh player in the Open Era to defend her title at the Canadian?Open after Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong, Martina Navratilova, Regina Marsikova, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis.

No player had successfully defended a WTA 1000 title since Iga Swiatek did so at Rome in 2022, and no player had done so on hard court since Ashleigh Barty, who defended her Miami crown in 2021.