Jessica Pegula edged closer to winning her first Cincinnati Open title as she overcame a three-set thriller against compatriot Amanda Anisimova to reach the semi-finals. 

Pegula was beaten in the 2024 final by Aryna Sabalenka, but moved to within one win of reaching the showpiece match again with a 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7-4) triumph on Thursday. 

The third seed will face either Elena Rybakina or Iga Swiatek in the final four, and she knows she will need another similar performance there if she is to advance once again. 

A tightly-contested first set saw Pegula need just one break, which came in the third game, to put herself in front, but Anisimova came out swinging in the second. 

The start of the second set saw Anisimova reel off the first four games in double-quick time, and though Pegula was able to break back, the damage had already been done. 

Anisimova was able to take the match the distance, but a slow start to the decider allowed Pegula to build a three-game lead, though Anisimova was again able to respond. 

The ninth seed got the better of Pegula's serve in the 10th game, which forced a tie-break, but Anisimova was unable to maintain her momentum as Pegula sealed her progression at the first time of asking in two hours and 14 minutes. 

Pegula prevails @JPegula books her semifinal place in Cincinnati! #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/tZfBf6fC6w

— wta (@WTA) August 20, 2026

Pegula joins hard-court 100 club in Cincinnati

On her way to the semi-finals, Pegula has overcome her two sternest tests in Cincinnati against Sorana Cirstea and Anisimova, which you would hope will put her in a strong position against Rybakina or Swiatek in the final four. 

And on this surface, Pegula has so often flourished. She is only the second American after Serena Williams (104) to claim 100 wins in hard-court WTA-1000 events since the format's introduction in 2009.

Pegula also continued to prove that age is just a number. She is the oldest semi-finalist at the Cincinnati Open since Angelique Kerber in 2021 and the second-oldest American in the Open Era, younger only than Serena Williams (2014, 2015).