Jessica Pegula battled into the China Open Round of 16 by earning her first win over Veronika Kudermetova in three attempts.

No.2 seed Pegula, this month's US Open finalist, notched a 6-7(9), 6-1, 6-2 victory over No.32 seed Kudermetova in their third-round match in Beijing on Sunday. After narrowly dropping a grueling opening set, Pegula regrouped to clinch the 2-hour and 39-minute win.

Pegula had lost to Kudermetova twice in 2023, including in the Tokyo final almost exactly one year ago. But the third time was the charm for Pegula against Kudermetova, and the World No.3 posts her career-best Beijing result with the win.

"Every time I've played her, it's always been really tough," Pegula said after the match. "After I came back from 2-5 in the first set, I kind of knew what to do, I just had to execute in the next couple sets. I'm happy I was able to kind of figure that out and finally help my head-to-head against her."

Hard-court expertise: After injury concerns marred Pegula's clay and grass swings, the American continues her exceptional hard-court form during the second half of the year.

Pegula has won 17 of her last 19 matches, defending her Canada title and making finals at Cincinnati and the US Open. Her only losses during this hard-court run have been to Aryna Sabalenka.

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Badosa awaits: Pegula will next face No.15 seed Paula Badosa of Spain in the Round of 16.

Earlier on Sunday, Badosa notched a hard-fought 7-5, 7-5 win over qualifier Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia. Badosa had to save two set points in the second set before she snapped Sramkova's nine-match winning streak.

Highlights: Badosa def. Sramkova

Pegula has a much more favorable head-to-head against Badosa than she had against Kudermetova. Pegula has beaten Badosa all three times they have played, including a win in last month's Cincinnati semifinals.

Back-and-forth showdown: Sunday's dramatic first set took 72 minutes to settle. Kudermetova went on a hot streak and held two set points at 5-3, but Pegula was able to go on a game-winning run of her own and serve for the set at 6-5.

However, Kudermetova fired a passing winner to break for 6-6 and set up a tiebreak full of stirring rallies. Pegula had two set points in the breaker, but Kudermetova eventually prevailed in the opener, converting her fifth set point with an unreturned first serve.

Nevertheless, after the first set went in Kudermetova’s favor, Pegula took command. The American cruised through the second set, where she had 11 winners to six unforced errors. Kudermetova, meanwhile, had her left leg strapping attended to by the trainer at 4-1.

In the third set, Pegula maintained momentum, using a powerful forehand to break for a 2-1 lead. Pegula eased to victory from there, wrapping up the win with her fifth ace of the day on her third match point.