Maria Sakkari gets past top-seeded Jessica Pegula to reach the DC Open final

WASHINGTON – Maria Sakkari let a huge lead disappear but recovered to take the last four games and beat top-seeded Jessica Pegula 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the DC Open semifinals Saturday.

Sakkari, a 28-year-old from Greece who is ranked No. 9 and seeded No. 4 at the tune-up for the U.S. Open, is trying to win her second career WTA Tour trophy and first on hard courts. She was up by a set and a break at 4-1 in the second before Pegula forced a third.

“Well, obviously it would have been ideal if I could be off the court an hour earlier, but at the end, I got the win, which I wanted the most,” Sakkari said. “In the third set, I just tried to stay in the present and I tried to overcome myself and take it as a new challenge.”

She enters Sunday’s title match against Coco Gauff or defending champion Liudmila Samsonova with an 0-5 record in hard-court finals.

It was hazy and steamy on Saturday, with no breeze to speak of, a temperature above 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius) and humidity at 50%. In the stands, many spectators tried to cool themselves by flapping hand-held fans.

Sakkari, twice a Grand Slam semifinalist in 2021, needed less than an hour to build that big edge against Pegula, who will be ranked No. 3 next week and is a six-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist.

Pegula, a 29-year-old American, was not attempting to hide her frustration at how things were going. After dropping one point early in the second set, she shrieked. After missing a backhand return in the same game, she chucked her racket to the ground. After double-faulting later, she smacked a ball into the stands.