All-American final incoming? Jessica Pegula sweeps aside Emma Navarro to reach China Open semi-finals and pokes fun at 'billionaire battle'

Jessica Pegula has concluded the line-up for the China Open WTA semi-finals in Beijing and will face off against Linda Noskova with an all-American final guaranteed if her next opponent doesn't act as a spoiler.

It was an all-American battle at the China Open as she faced off against Emma Navarro on Friday afternoon after Noskova had surged past Sonay Kartal earlier this morning. Kartal started well but Noskova in the end was just too good for the enslaught brought by the latter as she fell in one of her best runs since Wimbledon.

While for Pegula and Navarro, it has also been a bit of a mixed school of thought. Albeit both were revived in spurts by the Billie Jean King Cup recently which saw them fall to italy in the final but also saw both be anchors for their side and most importantly for their singles careers pick up vital wins ahead of the second half of the season.

There has never been an all-US final since the launch of the tournament back in 2004 so we could yet get a first as if not Noskova it will be Pegula, Amanda Anisimova and Coco Gauff. They face off in the second semi-final. It was also a meeting of wealth of sorts as Pegula joked about.

Often described as the world's richest tennis players and as billionaires merely for their parents being wealthy, Pegula and Navarro often just have to joke about it instead of using it to annoy them and she did just that on the court after she took a 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 win.

"She did a good job of staying tough, but at the same time I felt I was playing the right way," Pegula said. They call Pegula 'dafu' in Chinese which translates to Big Rich. They call the 24-year-old compatriot of Pegula 'second rich' and she joked about it on court seeing the funny side. "I guess the bigger Dafu won today, I don't know."

"I told myself to not get too frustrated," Pegula said. "That kind of allowed me to play more free."

In regards to the actual win, Navarro had all the impetus early doors and looked to be right bang in the ascendancy but unfortunately for her, she fell to a late revival from Pegula who allowed only three games in the last two sets.

Navarro who had lost both previous meetings to Pegula fended off six break points though so was lucky to win the first managing to come out on top in the first set tie-break to continue that momentum and scoop the set. Pegula though came back fighting and allowed Navarro little chance to breathe as she held, stopped the breaks ad also managed to carve out her own opportunities winning the last two comfortably.

The only Americans to win the China Open have been Gauff and also Serena Williams. So either the American reclaims it or it could go to her closest rivals in Pegula or Anisimova. Or Noskova could spring a shock. As the China Open has proved thus far expect the unexpected.