Picture Credit: Twitter
The American tennis player Jessica Pegula defeated Liudmila Samsonova to claim the Canadian Open WTA 1000 title in Montreal on Monday. In the championship match, Pegula, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the world, defeated the Russian 6-0, 6-1 in just 49 minutes.
Pegula's victory was all the more amazing in light of the recent emotional agony she had gone through. Pegula disclosed that she had lost her long-time companion and beloved dog, Dex. He was the subject of a touching Instagram post in which she shared a picture of him and dedicated her Montreal title to him.
“From 2 weeks ago crying on my couch for days wondering how the hell I was going to start this swing - to this week 🏆 - This one’s for you Dex, thanks for looking out for me down here” 🥹 🐾”, she captioned her post.
"Beating Coco and Iga were two really tough wins back-to-back," Pegula said after the final. "Being able to do that and then just come out today and play a really clean match was kind of great”, she added further.
With her first victory of the year, Pegula became the first American woman since Serena Williams in 2013 to win the Canadian Open title. She also advanced to the Doha final, the Australian Open quarterfinals, and the Miami semifinals. Pegula has made a name for herself as one of the top players on the circuit and is a serious contender for the 2017 US Open, where she will be hoping to keep up her impressive record.
