Pegula and Keys Set for All-American Final at Adelaide International

Top seed Jessica Pegula and former champion Madison Keys will face off in an all-American final at the Adelaide International after securing contrasting semifinal victories on Friday. Pegula defeated Yulia Putintseva 7-6(4), 6-3, while Keys advanced when Liudmila Samsonova retired due to an abdominal injury, trailing 5-7, 7-5, 3-0.

Pegula, the World No. 1 seed, overcame a tricky opponent in Putintseva, who pushed her to a first-set tiebreak. Despite trailing 4-2 in the tiebreak, Pegula rallied to win the set and carried that momentum into the second set. “Even when I practice with her, she’ll throw in the underarm serve. I thought for sure that was coming at some point,” Pegula said in her on-court interview. “I knew she was playing good tennis and was going to be tricky, but I thought I handled it pretty well.”

Keys, the 2022 Adelaide champion, fought back from a set down against Samsonova before the Russian retired in the third set. “It’s obviously not how you want to win a match, with a retirement, but I’m happy I was able to stick around and tough it out,” Keys said after the match. The American has now defeated four consecutive Top 30 players to reach the final.

Saturday’s final will mark the third career meeting between Pegula and Keys, with each player holding one win. Pegula won their 2022 San Diego quarterfinal, while Keys triumphed in the 2023 US Open fourth round. This will be the fifth all-American WTA final of the decade, with Pegula and Keys having featured in all of them.

Pegula, seeking her seventh career title, holds a 6-8 record in finals, while Keys, aiming for her ninth title, boasts an 8-5 record. Both players expressed mutual respect and camaraderie ahead of the final. “I was literally texting [Keys] 20 minutes before,” Pegula joked. “I ran out of electrolytes. I was like, ‘Hey, can I borrow some?'”

On the men’s side, Felix Auger-Aliassime upset top seed Tommy Paul 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4 to advance to the final, where he will face No. 2 seed Sebastian Korda. Korda defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 7-6(4) to reach his second Adelaide final.