Thu Jan 09 04:10:00 UTC 2025: **Top Seeds Pegula and Navarro Advance at Adelaide International**
Adelaide, Australia – Top seeds Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro secured their first victories of the 2025 season on Wednesday, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Adelaide International WTA 500 event.
World No. 7 Pegula, the 2024 US Open finalist, defeated former Top 3 player Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-4, 6-1, extending her head-to-head record against Sakkari to 6-5. Pegula overcame a slow start, falling behind 2-0 before winning five straight games. She secured the victory in 1 hour and 13 minutes, hitting 21 winners. “It felt really good to get the first win of the year,” Pegula commented after the match.
World No. 8 Navarro, the 2024 WTA Most Improved Player, notched a hard-fought win over Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(4), 6-4. This victory avenged a previous loss to Alexandrova at Wimbledon in 2023. Navarro dominated the second set, taking a 4-0 lead en route to victory.
Elsewhere, Coco Gauff continued her winning streak, remaining undefeated at the United Cup after a strong performance, including a victory over World No. 2 Iga Swiatek. Gauff attributed her success to a simple, unspecified key element.
First Piper 