Yulia Putintseva fought tooth and nail but eventually succumbed to Jessica Pegula in an epic contest at the Charleston Open.

Top seed Pegula was made to work for a 4-6 6-4 7-5 victory, which sealed her place in the third round.

The American required three hours and 10 minutes to get the job done, marking her longest career victory at WTA Tour level.

"All I could think was, 'Welcome to clay-court season.' Oh my God, it's my first match on clay," said Pegula, who will face Elisabetta Cocciaretto next.

"Kudos to Yulia. She's a really tricky opponent, especially on clay. She can be really crafty, use high balls, low balls, slices, drop shots, and I felt like she was just honestly toying with me there for quite a while.

"I'm not really sure how I found my way back. In the third, there were so many back-and-forth moments as well."

Madison Keys, meanwhile, had no such issues as she downed Donna Vekic 6-2 6-3 in a little over an hour.

Saving the drama for her bestie @JPegula @Madison_Keys | #CharlestonOpen pic.twitter.com/H6FQzF7O3v

— wta (@WTA) April 1, 2026

Data Debrief: Pegula takes her time

Pegula has been drawn into plenty of three-set thrillers already this season, but she has a fantastic record in such ties, winning seven and losing just one.

In fact, since last year's US Open, she is 16-4 in such matches.

This was Pegula's second-longest career match, after a 6-7 (8-10) 7-5 7-6 (7-5) defeat to Liudmila Samsonova in Berlin last year, which lasted three hours and 21 minutes. Her previous longest win came in Cincinnati in 2024, in a victory over Leylah Fernandez (three hours and four minutes).