Adelaide International: Jessica Pegula storms past Maria Sakkari on return from injury; Emma Navarro wins

US Open finalist Jessica Pegula celebrated her return from injury with a dominant win over Maria Sakkari at the Adelaide International.

The American top seed needed just 73 minutes to claim a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Greece’s Sakkari and advance to the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 event.

It was Pegula’s first match since she withdrew from the WTA Finals in November due to a knee injury.

Pegula reached her first major singles final at the US Open in September, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets.

She will enter the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday, as the seventh seed in the women’s singles.

“It’s always hard to get your first win of the year, you don’t know what to expect,” said Pegula.

“But it’s good to go to Melbourne next week. My initial focus is on doing well here.”

“It’s fun to solve problems on the field and start the year with a good attitude.”

The 30-year-old will face his compatriot Ashlyn Krueger, who defeated Spaniard Paula Badosa, in the semifinals on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Marketa Vondrousova’s participation in the Australian Open is in question after she was forced to withdraw from her match against Diana Shnaider due to injury.

The 2023 Wimbledon champion, playing only her second match since shoulder surgery in August, led 6-4 and 1-1 before ending the match early in tears.

Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, a two-time Wimbledon finalist, missed out on a place in the quarterfinals as she suffered a 6-2, 6-4 defeat to Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.

In the men’s event in Adelaide, Canada’s fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime fought back to beat Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 1-6, 6-4, 7-5, while top seed Tommy Paul beat French lucky loser Manuel Guinard 6-4, 3 :6 and 6 defeated -3.