Jessica Pegula was at her ruthless best in her round of 16 clash with creative shot-maker Marta Kostyuk, winning 73% of her service points en route to a 6-2, 6-3 triumph.
2025 WTA Tour
WTA 1000
Miami Open
Miami Gardens, Miami, Florida (Outdoor Hardcourts)
Selected Quarterfinals and Semifinals- 27th March
Quarterfinal
Jessica Pegula (4) 0.44 vs Emma Radacanu 1.75
The last American woman standing at this year’s Miami Open, Pegula was in full flow against Kostyuk, forcing the Ukrainian back with her awesome consistency and depth of shot. Pegula has been one of the most consistent players in recent Miami history, reaching the quarterfinals or better in each of her last four seasons (including back-to-back semifinal runs in 2022 and 2023). Pegula has had a somewhat schizophrenic campaign thus far, highlighted by a runner-up finish in Adelaide and a title victory in Austin. But she underperformed in the first three WTA 1000 events of the season, beaten by a lower-ranked opponent in each outing. However, Pegula has been one of the most consistent WTA 1000 players in recent seasons, reaching five finals in the last three years. She knows that a strong showing this week will give her a major boost ahead of the clay-court campaign.
This is turning out to be an enormous fortnight for Emma Radacanu. The elegant Brit has struggled to escape the looming shadow of that magnificent 2021 US Open title run (even incurring the wrath of Piers Morgan in the process). She has had her fair share of injury issues whilst also being accused of prioritizing off-court concerns. She also had to deal with that recent stalker situation. But the Brit has managed to block that all out this fortnight, winning four successive tour-level matches for the first time since that US Open triumph (which is a somewhat damning stat). Victories over Navarro and Anisimova ensure that she has beaten two top 20 players at the same tournament for only the 2nd time in her career (once again emulating that 2021 US Open run). She was mightily impressive in her round of 16 win over Doha champ Amanda Anisimova, winning 77% of her first-serve points while forcing the American into 37 errors. Radacanu was composed, striking eight winners to just eight unforced errors. She attacked Anisimova’s serve, winning 56% of all return points due to crisp hitting off both wings.
The Verdict: Radacanu to win in three at 5.2- Pegula and Radacanu currently share the head-to-head spoils at one win apiece, with each of them picking up a win in their home country (Pegula won in Cincinnati in 2022 while Radacanu won in Eastbourne last year). The WTA 1000 events have been gleefully unpredictable this season and I think that streak could continue in this clash. There are just shades of Radacanu’s 2021 US Open triumph all over this fortnight. The Brit has reached her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal and appears to have found a nice balance between aggression and sound defence.
