Road to the NBO - Pegula scores title with Wimbledon around the corner

Pegula, Putintseva nab first career grass titles

As quickly as it arrived, the grass-court swing is just a few weeks away from wrapping up on the tennis calendar.

This past week, it was Jessica Pegula who delivered a statement win on the surface. The 30-year-old veteran earned his first career grass court title, winning the Berlin Ladies Open as she rallied past Anna Kalinskaya in a thrilling final, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6.

The American, who’s been reliably consistent over the last few seasons, navigated a challenging draw with wins over Donna Vekic, Ekaterina Alexandrova, and good friend and top seed at the event, Coco Gauff en route to the finals.

Pegula, who’s reached as high as number three in the rankings, has been vocal about her quest for a Grand Slam title. She reached the final eight at the All England Club last year.

See also: Marino wins first grass title ahead of Wimbledon

Meanwhile, another veteran competitor returned to the winners’ circle for the first time in three years.

29-year-old Yulia Putintseva, who’s been a WTA mainstay for over a decade, notched her third career WTA singles title with a victory in Birmingham, defeating Ajla Tomljanovic in the finals.

The former world number 27 revealed that she even surprised herself with her ability to win on the surface.

“It’s confusing because I’ve always been good on clay, but now all of a sudden, I’m good on grass!,” laughed the Kazakh.

On Court this week: Fernandez, Keys, Wozniacki in action

Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez had a positive showing on grass this past week, reaching the quarter-finals of the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham. 

Read more: Tomljanovic rallies past Fernandez

The former US Open finalist, who’s a guest this week on Match Point Canada, will be eager to continue the stretch of good form on the surface. The Canadian is competing at the Eastbourne International as she gets one final tune up event ahead of the third major on the calendar year.

While the event did lose 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who pulled out due to a scheduling conflict, there’s plenty of star power in the field.

Madison Keys, a US Open finalist back in 2017, has the perfect aggressive baseline tools for this surface.

Her lethal serve and potent groundstroke power are a recipe for success on grass, so it’s no wonder she’s twice reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon.

Three of the eight WTA singles titles from the American have come on this surface.

Eyes will also stay in Germany with the Bad Homburg Open underway – and a wide open field.

While top seeds Maria Sakkari and Liudmila Samsonova both suffered early exits, former world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki is worth keeping an eye on.

The former 2018 Aussie Open winner was one of four women’s players granted a wild card into the main draw of Wimbledon, alongside Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber, and Emma Raducanu.

Does Wozniacki have one more major run left?

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