Senior Mallory Burdette won the second WTA title of her career on Saturday, dominating American Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-0 in the finals of the Odium Brown Vancouver Open. With the win, she also secured a wild card spot in the main draw of the U.S. Open, which begins on Aug. 27.
“I was talking to my sister last night,” Burdette said after the match. “We knew the points race was close but I didn’t actually know that if I won this match I’d for sure have [the U.S. Open berth].”
Burdette eased through the qualifying, dropping just five games over her three matches, and was a stifling force in her first and second-round matches, winning both 6-0, 6-1. She had a harder time in the quarterfinals against Austrian three-seed Bojana Bobusic, but escaped with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory and headed to the semis.
After a 6-3, 6-2 win over American wild-card Julia Elbaba, Burdette faced off against Pegula, who she had defeated 7-5, 6-0 in the second round of an event in Lexington, Ky. two weeks ago.
At 2-2 in the first set, Pegula grabbed the lead with an early break but failed to hold serve again herself, as Burdette won the next 10 games for the title.
Though the $200,000 Vancouver event carries a $15,200 prize for the winner, the three-time All-American and two-time NCAA doubles champion — who still has a year of eligibility left — played as an amateur and turned down the money, except for her expenses.
Just two weeks ago, Burdette won the Women’s Hospital Tennis Classic, a $10,000 event, in Evansville, Ind. She also had an impressive showing at Stanford’s own Bank of the West Classic, getting through the first round before falling to two-seed Marion Bartoli 7-5, 6-0.
—Joseph Beyda