Coco Gauff capped an opening victory at the FAGE WTA Finals with a dominant third set, defeating Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 in 2 hours, 39 minutes Sunday at Indian Wells.

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The match swung repeatedly, with Gauff breaking in the final game of the opening set to move ahead, then rallying from a 5-1 deficit in the second and holding match point at 6-5 before Pegula saved it and forced a deciding set by taking a high-level tiebreak.

Gauff seized control from there, breaking serve in the opening game of the third set and racing to a 3-0 lead. She earned another break a few games later and cruised to her sixth win over Pegula in 11 WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz meetings.

Gauff told reporters her ability to reset mentally after failing to convert match point helped her take control of the third set.

“I think today, just staying in it. I felt like it was such a good match. High level from both of us,” Gauff said. “Mentally I think was the biggest difference. I didn’t get too high or get too low, and I think that even though I lost that match point in the second, I was able to reset.”

With the victory, Gauff improved to 1-0 in Group 1 play and extended her winning streak against Pegula to three matches, all coming this season.

For Pegula, the energy spent surviving the second set proved costly.

“To get me to work to win that set 7-6 instead of 6-1 or 6-2 or 6-3 even definitely didn’t bode well for me going to the third,” Pegula told reporters. “Because I just used a massive amount of energy. It took like another hour for me to win the second set when it could’ve been done in one game.

“That’s what she does. That’s what she’s the best in the world at, I think. She makes you compete and win no matter what, and I thought she reset well going back into the third knowing she had chances. I think I saved one match point. It didn’t do well for me having to tough out that second set as hard as I did.”

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Competing in her fifth consecutive WTA Finals, Gauff became the youngest player to make five straight appearances at the event since Martina Hingis from 1996-2000. The 2024 champion has won eight matches at the event during that stretch.

Next up for Gauff is Linda Noskova, who beat Marta Kostyuk in straight sets earlier Sunday. Gauff is 2-1 against Noskova, though Noskova won their lone meeting this year in Madrid.

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Pegula, meanwhile, will shift her focus to Kostyuk.

“It’s always kind of a weird feeling,” Pegula said. “You are kind of thinking about the match. Everything about that match, but you also realize tomorrow starts prep for another match against a new opponent, even though you lost. So I think I’ve just gotten better at that over the last few years playing Finals, but it definitely can be a little bit of a weird feeling.”

Pegula leads the head-to-head 4-3, though Kostyuk won both meetings this season in Brisbane and Madrid.