On Sunday at the Cincinnati Open, Jessica Pegula weathered a storm in more ways than one to pick up her ninth straight victory and advance to her fifth career WTA 1000-level final.

The No.6 seed overcame a mid-match rain delay, an a surge from former World No.2 Paula Badosa after it, en route to securing a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory. The 1-hour, 53-minute triumph was Pegula's fourth three-set win in her current winning streak, and the National Bank Open champion will seek to be the first woman since Evonne Goolagong in 1973 to win Canada and Cincinnati in the same year when she takes on No.3 seed Aryna Sabalenka on Monday.

Cincinnati: Scores | Draws | Order of Play

Pegula is nonetheless the sixth player in the Open Era to reach the singles final in Canada and Cincinnati in a calendar year after Rosie Casals, Goolagong, Li Na, Serena Williams and Simona Halep.

"I did not think I would be in a group with those names, but I'm so happy right now," Pegula said post-match. "I've been playing well, competing well and it's paying off."

Just as she did in the previous round against Leylah Fernandez, which she eventually needed more than 3 hours to win, Pegula raced out of the gates against Badosa. She won the first four games of the match, broke the Spaniard three times in the first set, and eventually led by a set and a break at 6-3, 2-0.

But as conditions changed, and wet weather rolled in, Badosa found her footing. Eventually, the lengthiest delay of the match forced the players off the court with Badosa ahead 4-3 in the second set -- and she won back-to-back games on resumption to send the semifinal the distance.

But Pegula kept the lead for much of the decider -- with a 1-1 game in which she saved four break points proving critical. She eventually won the match's last three games, breaking Badosa for 5-3 from 30-0 down, and saving a break point to finish.

"I just needed to not get frustrated," Pegula added. "She was serving so well there for a while. She hits the ball so hard, and I was just like, 'I don't really know what to do' sometimes. It's hard to find that balance of trying to go for your shots but also trying to be consistent. 

"I wanted to remind myself to be aggressive but at the same time, to dig out some points when I needed to, and to serve well. I knew it was going to be hard to break her, but luckily I played a couple of good points, and was able to serve it out."