Pegula fights past Navarro for Noskova semi-final in Beijing / Photo: GREG BAKER - AFP
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Pegula fights past Navarro for Noskova semi-final in Beijing
Jessica Pegula fought back to beat fellow American Emma Navarro 6-7 (2/7), 6-2, 6-1 on Friday for a date with Linda Noskova in the China Open semi-finals.
Getting past 26th-seeded Noskova would guarantee an all-American final in Beijing, against either defending champion Coco Gauff or Amanda Anisimova.
There has never been an all-US final at the tournament since its 2004 launch.
"She did a good job of staying tough, but at the same time I felt I was playing the right way," Pegula, seeded five, said.
It was a meeting of wealth on Beijing's centre Diamond Court.
Local tennis enthusiasts, known to nickname their favourite players, call 31-year-old Pegula "Dafu", which translates to "big rich" in Chinese.
They call 24-year-old Navarro the Chinese equivalent of "second rich", a nod to the billionaire families of both players.
"I guess the bigger Dafu won today, I don't know," Pegula said afterwards.
The 16th seed Navarro, who lost both previous meetings to Pegula, fended off six set points to force a first-set tiebreak and carried that momentum to win the set.
Pegula came back fighting, allowing Navarro precious few chances to break and stormed to victory.
"I told myself to not get too frustrated," Pegula said.
"That kind of allowed me to play more free."
Noskova of the Czech Republic brushed aside Britain's unseeded Sonay Kartal 6-3, 6-4.
Kartal, world no. 81, was playing in her first 1000-level quarter-final after defeating fifth-ranked Mirra Andreeva.
Gauff and US Open finalist Anisimova will face off in the other semi-final.
The only Americans to win the WTA China Open have been world number three Gauff and 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.
R.Papakonstantinou--AN-GR
