Jessica Pegula pounded out a combative 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 defeat of Clara Tauson on Thursday to book her seventh straight semi-final place at  a Tour event, with the fourth seed advancing in Dubai.

Pegula needed just under two hours to secure a place in the final four, a run of form dating to the US open last September followed by Beijing, Wuhan and WTA Finals and Brisbane and the Australian Open this season.

The American  is competing in the emirate for the fifth time after also reaching the semis three years ago.

2025 Dubai runner-up Tauson saved a match point before Pegula put the issue to bed to advance after saving three set points for the Dane in the opening set.

Tauson levelled at a set each in tricky winds, breaking Pegula twice to send it into a deciding third.

Pegula then broke for 4-3, enough of a margin to see her through into the business end of the event.

“I’m starting to feel more like myself again after a tough stretch earlier in the season,” she said. “I’ve been serving better and moving well physically, and the work with my coaches have helped me get back to the roots of my game.”

She now takes on compatriot and WTA No. 6 Amanda Anisimova, who upset holder Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) that took two and a half hours to settle after several plot twists on the showcase court.

Anisimova came from 3-1 down to eventually take it into a tiebreaker, where she compiled a 5-1 lead on the way to the upset on her fourth match point.

“It was almost me in tears there at the end,” the winner said as the teenaged Andreeva broke down in tears of defeat.

“It was such a tough battle, Meera fought so hard today, she’s playing so well and was fighting like a champion on court. 

“It’s always tough that someone has to lose at the end of the day. We both played great, and I’m really happy to get through.”

Jannik Sinner enters the final three-event sprint hoping to lure coach Darren Cahill into staying on after the 60-year-old Aussie has announced he wants to retire.

The former ATP player has been instrumental in driving the Italian from a mountain village to the top of the sport, with Sinner now ranked second in the world after touching the top in his long-time duel with Carlos Alcaraz.

It will be a battle of wills as Sinner strives to keep his winning team from dissolving with any departure of the well respected Aussie mentor.

The 24-year-old player with around USD 35 million in career on-court earnings may have to use the lure of cold cash to achieve his goal of keeping Cahill onside.

“We haven’t talked yet, to be honest,” Sinner told the ATP on site in Vienna for this week’s 500 Tour event.

” We said we are going to finish the year, and then we might ask him for a long chat, trying to convince him. 

“But in any case, if he stays or not, he has been an amazing person and obviously a coach for me to hold the whole team together in the tough moments.”

With Grand Slam titles in Melbourne and New York this season along with this month’s win in Beijing. Sinner is well-positioned for 2025; he has opted to skip Italy’s Davis Cup title defence in Bologna next month and will wrap up his season after the November ATP Finals in Turin.

“The results have been amazing, so I will try to make it happen for my own wellbeing,” Sinner said.

He’s been important because I see the effort he puts in, working with a 24-year-old kid flying all over the world and putting in a lot of effort.

“He has family, he has many, many important things to do also off the court and managing this and always putting me basically in the first place, it has been amazing and I’m very sure we can, we can make something very positive.”

Sinner called Cahill his “second father, so I’m happy to have him here. It’s a huge privilege to work with him.

“We aim for something very positive [for him to stay], and I will need a lot of hope for that.”

Main photo:- Darren Cahill with his first Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi with the 2003 Australain Open Trophy – by Roger Parker/Fotosports International

British outsider Sonay Kartal earned the biggest win of her career on Wednesday with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 upset of fourth seed Mirra Andreeva to reach the China Open quarter-finals.

The winner ranked 81st will play a last-eight match for the first time since winning a minor title a year ago.

Kartal is the first Brit to get this far in Beijing since Johanna Konta nine years ago.

“The way I carry myself on the court is one of my biggest assets, I think,” Kartal said. “You can look down the other end of the court and you won’t really know if I’m winning or losing.

“I just tried to put that (losing) second set behind me – she played some great tennis. I just tried to level it out in the third set and keep the scoreboard pressure as far as I could.”

Kartal said that keeping her emotions hidden was the key to the uspet.

“I tried to be super unpredictable. I was aware of what she was going to try and do, how she was going to try and attack my game style.

“I just tried to be super unpredictable and in big moments play brave tennis …I was accepting that this match might not go my way, but at least I’m going to play the way I need to play to get the wins later on.”