Pegula saves 5 match points and wins his first title on grass

BUFFALO, N.Y. — It wasn’t easy for Jessica Pegula in the championship match at the ecotrans Ladies Open.

The Buffalo native, currently No. 5 in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, saved five championship points in a 6-7 (0), 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory over No. 24 Anna Kalinskaya, Sunday in Berlin.

The victory marked Pegula’s first on a grass surface and fifth overall of his career.

Pegula recently returned to the court following a neck injury in April that forced her to miss the French Open, where she had reached the quarterfinals in 2022.

Pegula will compete for Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Paris next month. She also competed three years ago in Tokyo, where she lost in the first round of singles but reached the quarterfinals of doubles with Bethanie Mattek-Sands.