TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Jessica Pegula, the No. 3 seed and the sixth-ranked WTA Tour player, defended her National Bank Open women鈥檚 singles title by defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in Monday鈥檚 all-American final.
Pegula, from nearby Buffalo, New York, and improved her all-time record at the Canadian tennis championship to 17-2 in picking up the sixth tournament victory of her career.
鈥淪o excited to be here with the trophy again,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 really wanted this one. I know everyone鈥檚 talking about my record and all this stuff, but it鈥檚 nice to be able to get through the week and to back it up."
Pegula is the first woman to repeat at Canada鈥檚 showcase event since Martina Hingis in 2000.
鈥淚鈥檝e always just played well here,鈥� said the 30-year-old. 鈥淓specially Toronto, it鈥檚 nice. It鈥檚 so close to Buffalo, I had a lot of friends, family (in the stands). And my grandparents, my husband was able to come today.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really get that at a lot of tournaments.鈥�
Anisimova, who entered the week ranked No. 132 in the world as she continues her comeback after for a mental health break, beat three top-20 players in Toronto, in the quarterfinals.
鈥淩eally thought I had it there after the second set, but she really stepped it up,鈥� said Anisimova, who will wake up Tuesday at No. 49 in the rankings. 鈥淪he was playing some amazing tennis. It was a very, very difficult match.
Monday鈥檚 match marked just the second time the final of a WTA 1000 event 鈥� one step below the sport鈥檚 four Grand Slams 鈥� has featured two Americans since the format was first introduced in 2009, with the only other instance coming in 2016 when Serena Williams defeated Madison Keys in Rome.
Pegula, who improved to 3-0 against Anisimova after also topping her on clay earlier this season, beat Liudmila Samsonova in last year鈥檚 final.
The daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula 鈥� owners of the NFL鈥檚 Buffalo Bills and NHL鈥檚 Buffalo Sabres 鈥� picked up a break in Monday鈥檚 first game and led 5-3 when Anisimova double-faulted to go down a set in the wind at Sobeys Stadium.
Anisimova trailed love-40 in the second set before battling back to hold and then broke Pegula to go up 2-1 following a long rally.
The 22-year-old former French Open semifinalist then pushed ahead 5-2 with another break when Pegula committed a double fault before holding serve to hand Pegula her first dropped set of the tournament.
Monday marked the first time two American women have played for Canada鈥檚 national championship since Serena Williams defeated Jennifer Capriati in 2001.
Anisimova said she had no idea how her return to competitive tennis would go when she first stepped back on the court in January at the Australian Open following an eight-month break.
鈥淚 put the work in, I kept my head down,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 tried to come back to the sport with more of a relaxed feeling 鈥� trying to enjoy each day as it comes and not being so serious about everything, because I think that takes away the joy from a lot of things.
鈥淲ith that kind of approach to my everyday life, I think that鈥檚 helped me a lot.鈥�
The American duo of Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk defeated Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand鈥檚 Erin Routliffe 7-6 (2), 3-6, 10-7 in Monday鈥檚 doubles final.
Dabrowski, who captured mixed doubles bronze for Canada at the Paris Olympics with Montreal鈥檚 Felix Auger-Aliassime, won the National Bank Open doubles crown in 2021 with former partner Luisa Stefani of Brazil.
Dabrowski and Routliffe beat Dolehide and Krawczyk in last month鈥檚 Wimbledon semifinals before losing out to Katerina Siniakov of Czechia and Taylor Townsend of the U.S. in the title match.
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AP tennis:
The Associated Press
