Third-ranked Jessica Pegula responded to losing a marathon first set to rally for a 6-7 (9), 6-1, 6-2 win over Veronika Kudermetova in the third round of the China Open on Sunday. Pegula has won 17 of her last 19 matches, including defending her title in Toronto and making finals at Cincinnati and the U.S. Open, where her only defeats have come to Aryna Sabalenka, the top-seeded player in Beijing. The American made three service breaks in the first set, but also lost three of her own, with Kudermetova prevailing in a lung-busting 20 point tiebreaker to take the lead.